Down The Rabbit Hole
by ToryTigress92
Summary: She was a rising star within Starfleet, a successful first officer aboard the USS Hotspur, until London. Until the night she locked eyes with the terrorist who assassinated her commanding officer. Little did Commander Cassandra Mason comprehend the darkness just waiting to consume her, and everything she thought she believed, in the arms of the creature called Khan.
1. Chapter 1

Down The Rabbit Hole

Warnings: Some violence, explicit content and occasional bad language.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

_**A/N: **_**Just an introductory chapter to ascertain interest in this story. I won't be able to update for some time, until Star Trek: Into Darkness is released on DVD as I need the film for reference, but rest assured this story will be updated. I will be exploring elements of the Eugenic Wars, and the events leading up to them, and my own take on what happened with Khan and Cassia, as well as the film plot. I think the only major change I've made is that my superhumans were created from pre-existing human test subjects rather than embryos. Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

_When she opened her eyes, it was to a new world._

_New and yet, not new for phantom memories of another life, another existence still clung to the edges of her psyche. She blinked, as her vision cleared of the light-induced whiteout, and everything was so sharp, so bright and clear, as she was sure it never had been before._

_She did not remember her life, or who she was beyond her name. Cassia._

_She did not remember how or why she agreed to the programme. Her reasons were irrelevant now, and she relished the strength running through her veins like molten steel._

_She was better at everything. She felt like she could crush the metal medical bed on which she lay like paper in her bare fist. She could run a thousand miles and not break a sweat; she could jump and touch the moon in the war-ravaged sky outside. She could look at a wall of mathematical equations and solve them all, she could figure out the internal workings of the most complicated and sophisticated operating systems in the world._

_And she had not even left the medical section yet. Her eyes had just opened, and yet, Cassia knew she could do all these things. It was in her very DNA._

* * *

_They kept her isolated after she awoke. She ate and slept in the same, nondescript grey room she had awoken in. Every morning, they took samples of blood from her, and she knew they would be watching her every move through the numerous cameras, hidden but so ridiculously obvious to her enhanced senses, throughout her room._

_Or prison cell._

_One day, she snapped and drove the hypodermic syringe into the doctor's neck, and he died, choking on his blood at her feet. She felt nothing but contempt at the weakness of the human lying before her._

_They began training her after that. Weapons, technology, unarmed combat._

_Nothing fazed her, and she took to every new skill with alacrity but she was fast becoming bored again. These tasks were so mundane, so belittling of the power she felt inside of her. Even her doctors agreed that this was beneath her._

_One of them, a doctor called Noonien Singh, often spoke with her, telling her of the glorious future that awaited her, as a soldier for the European Alliance against the atrocities committed by the Asian Faction. She cared little for the ideologies he spouted at her, of the evils of communism and the glories of democracy, or the control of totalitarianism. They were just words to her, meaning little. _

_But she liked him well enough. She understood that he had been the one to 'create' her, for want of a better term, and she looked to him as a sort of paternal figure. He sometimes asked her if she remembered her former life, before the Programme and the DNA augmentation, but she always answered in the negative. That life did not matter now; it could not have been worth anything for her to have agreed to this transformation._

_When she told him so, his eyes exhibited a strange mixture of relief, triumph and sadness which she did not, and could not, understand. She cared little._

_She supposed she felt lonely, her life was devoid of companionship apart from Doctor Noonien Singh, and she wondered if she was the only successful subject._

_She was not._

* * *

_The day Singh took her to him, was the day she realised she wasn't alone, that she need never be alone again._

_She could feel his eyes on her, traversing her body with as much academic interest as sexual attraction. The DNA re-sequencing had not stripped them of that._

_His eyes, cold and piercing as a shard of ice, sank into her body like daggers, merciless, but bringing a strange thrill, of freedom and wanton abandonment. As she fearlessly met the eyes of the one Doctor Noonien Singh had given his surname to, the first of their kind, his surrogate 'son', she felt the faintest spark of electricity as he took her hand._

_She did not believe in the soul. It was a silly, human story made up to comfort themselves, to give them individuality in a world where they were little more than animals. But as she looked at him, into him, the dark hair, the pale skin, the trim and muscled physique, and the intellect burning with a ruthless passion behind his eyes, she felt the final dregs of her self leave her body and enter his._

_If she were not more than human, she would have trembled at the feeling of ownership and belonging, overwhelming and unstoppable, as he said her name, cold and functional, betraying none of what she saw in his eyes._

_His name slipped from her mouth in the same cool, perfunctory manner. _

_Khan…Khan…_

* * *

_They were to be soldiers in this war. That was what Khan explained to her, while they walked through the underground compound together, separate yet Cassia felt his body's heat against her own as if he were physically pressing every inch of himself against her._

_Cassia found herself disliking the notion, not of killing or fighting, but of serving these weak humans whose necks she could snap as easily as chalk. She knew he disliked the notion too, though he did not say it, but it was there, in his eyes and the always tense line of his jaw._

_But somehow she doubted verbalising that fact would get them out of this underground bunker alive. By unspoken consensus, both she and Khan agreed that their best chance of escape lay once they left this bunker and entered the war._

* * *

_Over the coming months she was introduced and integrated into the group of augmented humans, all with abilities like her own, of whom Khan was the eldest and their leader. One hundred humans all told, and each one as powerful as the next._

_Cassia was one of the fastest, and her speed made her difficult to catch in combat. It made her a challenge, one her human opponents never survived but her brethren could. One of them, Tomas, watched her with calculating eyes and she disliked the feeling, her skin cringing._

_No, the only eyes she liked caressing her figure through her plain grey fatigues were the piercing, blue eyes of their leader. With all the guards watching them, preventing any contact not approved by the medical team, or the instructors, there was no opportunity to even broach the subject, let alone attempt to rectify it, so she just looked back, a curling twist of heat centred in her abdomen whenever she met his eyes, burning for release._

_Khan…_

* * *

Commander Cassandra Mason started awake, her eyes flaring wide as she bolted upright for the hundredth night in a row. Her lungs gasped for air, her breasts heaving against the constricting material of her regulation vest. The clean, soothing red walls of her bedroom reassured her, made her calm, as the memories of the dream washed over her.

She'd been having these dreams for as long as she could remember. She took medication to force these dreams away, had consulted doctors and psychiatrists and even a Vulcan expert on matters of the mind, but nothing worked. She just had to endure them.

There were days when she got up and looked at her face in the mirror, and barely recognised the wavy dark hair framing a perfectly normal, reasonably attractive face. She was quite short, but that had never stopped her kicking the boys' arses in combat training.

She sometimes wondered if the dreams she had were the result of some kind of trauma from childhood that she'd forgotten, especially as they faded in the light of day, details becoming hazy and names slipping from her mind.

She had stopped going to the doctors or the psychiatrists. They could do nothing for her, and she refused to have her career blighted by a silly nightmare. It was nothing she could not handle alone.

Besides, there were far more serious events occurring that she needed to focus on. As she swung her legs out of bed, the lights flickered on to their preset levels, dim and soothing as she shrugged out of her sleepwear. It was 0630 hours, and she needed to shower and report for duty.

After the terrorist attack in London, all senior Starfleet captains, and their first officers, closest to Earth had been summoned to an emergency briefing, as per protocol after such an attack. They had been given little information on the exact nature of the attack, nor its perpetrator, but something niggled in the back of Cassandra's head.

She thrust it aside. Her commanding officer did not appreciate gut instincts and niggling.

* * *

Captain Henry Tregannan had been an almost fatherly figure to Cassandra ever since she had been transferred to the U.S.S Hotspur three years ago, but he was a rigid, by the book officer who had never bent or broken the rules in his life. She respected him but found herself sometimes exasperated by his dogged insistence on following rules and regulations.

Her three years of service had been uneventful if interesting, patrolling the Neutral Zone for one year, then a two year survey assignment, gathering data and samples from the planets and moons of the Mayarian system, comprised of a dozen gas giants and M class planets orbiting a star not dissimilar to the Terran system before returning to Earth for shore leave. Their routine missions had gone off without a hitch.

Her career was commendable, if not quite exemplary yet. As Tregannan constantly reminded her, she needed to learn patience and tolerance if she wanted to aspire to a command of her own one day. It was true Cassandra had little patience if others struggled or failed to meet her standards, and she had attempted using Earth meditation techniques to contain her irrational anger and impatience.

Her perfectionist attitude and rigorous standards had garnered her praise but few friends among the crew. They generally gave her a wide berth outside of official duties, but she could care less. She was used to it by now, ever since she started at the Academy. There had always been distance in her instructors', and eventually even her commanding officer's, eyes, something Cassandra could not identify the origin of. Sometimes she wondered if it was because of the accident that killed her parents and erased two years of her memory, just before entering the Academy. It had always been pity and curiosity she had seen in her fellow cadets' eyes before it turned to dislike and offence when she brushed them off, because they just couldn't accept that she wanted to be alone, but she had to admit, it wasn't pity or curiosity she saw in her instructors' eyes or Tregannan's. Fear, trepidation, and wariness, but no pity.

She sometimes wondered why she felt little sadness over her parents' death. She had attended their funerals, been petted and pawed by family members she had no memory of seeing before, and even though she possessed holo-images of them, looking at them never sparked any kind of emotion. She was just…empty.

She rarely looked at them now.

* * *

She slung her dark hair over one shoulder as she entered the bathroom, the lights flicking on instantly, lighting up the small, functional tiled room with its shower, toilet, wash basin and mirrored cabinet. For a moment, she eyed her reflection, tangled curls, eyes darkened with the shadows of her nightmares and restless sleep, her skin paler than usual. Perhaps she should revisit the doctor again; she couldn't afford disturbed nights when they returned to the Hotspur.

As she stepped into the shower, her thoughts turned again to the terrorist bombing in London. It had been so long since Earth had suffered such an attack, Starfleet Intelligence was usually extremely adept at identifying the rare threats on the planet and off, and neutralising them. How had this one slipped through?

The name of the target niggled at her brain, as her hair grew heavy against her shoulders with water, and she closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation detachedly while her mind raced.

Why the Archive? While important on academic grounds, its destruction was hardly strategically damaging. She supposed she would find out soon enough.

She pushed the disquiet in her mind away, focusing on finishing her shower, drying her hair and rearranging it into an appropriate hairstyle before dressing and grabbing breakfast. By the time she left, all thought of her nightmare had faded to the back of her subconscious, as she continued to contemplate the bombing in London and the briefing to be held at Starfleet Command that night.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

Down The Rabbit Hole

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Warnings: Violence. Some suggestive theme and disturbing content.

* * *

Cassandra spent her day going over the logs and reports before their final submission to the Science Division, keeping her mind off thoughts of her dreams or the briefing at Starfleet Command that night. Unfortunately, there was little to do, the crew of the Hotspur were careful and knew their jobs. She could find little error to correct in their reports and mission logs.

After carefully cataloguing and putting them into their appropriate categories, she sent them off with a sigh, leaning back in her chair, as she gazed out over the Bay from her office window, dropping the PADD nonchalantly onto the desk.

It was a fine day, at least for San Francisco, the sky light and clear, and the early morning fog long dissipated by the warm sunlight. Starfleet Command was bristling with activity, but overall a sense of peace prevailed over the scene. The quiet before the storm.

With a reflexive shudder, Cassandra stood and strode for the refectory for lunch, then she would go to the gym. Anything to while away the hours and hopefully tire her out, just enough, for her to sleep undisturbed tonight.

The gym was busy but not full when she emerged from the changing rooms. Spotting a free treadmill, she hurried over to it, stretching her muscles before hopping onto the machine, choosing an intensive exercise programme. The strip beneath her running shoes flared to life, and she began walking quickly.

For the first five minutes she just walked, staring at the various screens displaying interplanetary news and bulletins of general orders from Starfleet Command. Dissatisfied with the noise of voices and panting breaths around her, she tapped an icon on the screen in front of her, displaying her vitals and the exercise programme she had chosen, and a pair of earphones dropped from the console.

As she plugged them in, a cool, feminine voice spoke. _Welcome Commander Mason. Music option selected._

Just as the programme began to speed up, forcing her into a jog and raising the elevation of the treadmill to mimic hill running, music from 21st Century Earth filtered into her ears, blocking out all the annoyances around her. She smiled and settled quickly into a rhythm, transitioning easily from jog to full sprint.

However the easy rhythm she fell into while running didn't distract from the latest nightmare, as she frowned when images began to roll across her mind's eye, unbidden.

_Cassia…Khan…a grey room with bright lights…Noonien Singh…blue, blue eyes piercing into her core…the crack of fragile bone as her fist collided with it…the snap as she severed a spinal cord…gunfire…skin against skin, mouth against mouth…_

"Commander? Commander!?" a voice snapped her out of her dream-like reverie, and her head turned at the urgency in the voice. A gym attendant stood, eying her like she was some dangerous animal or a freak, as she stopped the programme and tore her earphones out.

"What is it?" she barked.

"It's just…some people were worried about you, Commander," the attendant began sheepishly under her glare. "You've been running full pelt for close to an hour."

Cassandra glanced at her readout and saw it had indeed been an hour since she started her run. But what alarmed her, and seemingly the other personnel in the gym were the vitals being displayed. She had been running for 66 minutes, and her heart rate had barely lifted.

That couldn't be right. "There must be something wrong with the display," she muttered, turning to the attendant decisively. "Run a diagnostic, I'll do some weight training instead."

"Yes, ma'am," the attendant nodded, before turning but Cassandra still caught the uneasy look in his eye as he glanced at her.

"Wow," one of her fellow runners remarked, as she hopped off the machine. "Trying to break a record there, Mason?"

Cassandra just glared at him, before turning and striding away determinedly, but not to the weights room. She needed to be alone.

The sauna was deserted as she slipped inside, the steam obscuring most of the room. Finding her way to a bench, she slumped down on it, pressing her head back against the wooden panelling, her eyes closed as moisture collected in the hollows of her body.

What the hell was that? Running for an hour straight, at full sprint, and she'd barely broken a sweat. She was physically fit, certainly, but not to that extent. What was happening to her?

Checking her wristwatch, she could see it was still several hours until the briefing. She sighed, just wanting the hours to hurry along, as she closed her eyes again, her muscles relaxing inadvertently.

She was asleep in moments.

* * *

_She knew this would happen. She hadn't known when or where, but she knew it had, ever since she'd first felt his intrusive, covetous eyes on her wherever she went._

_She lashed out and kicked at him, and he flew ten feet away, but he was no pitiful human. He was like her._

_She didn't even know his name._

_Within seconds, he was back up on his feet and coming at her. She dodged and feinted, looking everywhere for one of the others, or even one of the guards, but the practice hall was deserted. The sick cowards were probably watching on the cameras._

_A feral growl welled up in Cassia's chest. She did not want him, she would not be taken by force. If she belonged to anyone, it was to Khan._

_But even speed can sometimes fall to strength, as she feinted to one side, but he anticipated her move, grabbed her waist and threw her down on the floor, smashing her head into the concrete. She struggled but he pinned her with his knee, and she could feel his breath against her neck, with a shudder of revulsion._

_An enraged roar broke through the bloodlust and anger fogging her senses, and the pressure on her back was gone, as she twisted over to see __**him**__ standing there, over her tormentor, eyes ablaze as he pinned the struggling Augment to the ground. No one could match him. His eyes met hers as he pinned the man down, and she scrambled to her feet at the command in his. He beckoned to her, and she came forward, ignoring the torn sleeve of her fatigues and the bruises forming on her waist._

"_Your right, Cassia," he purred, and she smiled, as fear dilated her attacker's eyes. Anger turned to lust as she looked up into Khan's eyes, his hands brushing hers on the man's neck, blocking off his oesophagus so he could not speak. With a perfunctory snap, she severed his spinal cord, and he slumped beneath Khan's hold. "You did well."_

"_He would have forced me," she replied, coolly. "I have no mercy for those who take what does not belong to them."_

"_And whom do you belong to?" he asked, his voice a caress of its own, as he stood, taller than her, towering over her slight form. She smiled boldly, and raised a hand to his face._

"_You know very well who, my love," she purred in her turn, stroking the harsh line of his cheekbone, trailing her palm down to his heart. She felt the primal growl build up in his chest, as he stepped fully over the cooling corpse of the Augment who attacked her, and reached for her. "We mustn't. Not here, where the guards could see," she hissed, as his arms twined roughly around her waist, pulling her forward. She could feel his arousal and it stoked her own._

"_Come with me," he murmured, taking her hand and pulling her away. _

_He took her, through the myriad back passageways of the compound, to the women's showers, and Cassia noticed that the security cameras were disabled. Khan smirked._

"_Your doing?" she remarked pointedly, and he inclined his head._

"_They needed maintenance anyway," he grinned, before tugging her inside. With his hold on her hand, he spun her around and backed her up against the tiling, his lips ravaging hers in a primal, possessive kiss. _

_Cassia grabbed his shoulders and returned it with full force, her blood up with the fight and Khan's possessive rescue. He had allowed her the honour of killing the bastard who tried to take her without consent. Cassia was no fool, she knew the female Augments on base were desired both by the guardsmen and by the male Augments, but none had been fool enough to attempt to force another._

_Until today, and let it serve as a warning._

_Khan ripped the zipper of her fatigues down, his mouth marking her neck above the tank top beneath, his hands forcefully moulding her body to his. She groaned into his shoulders, strong and broad beneath her palms, before pushing him back, into the showers._

"_I will destroy every trace of that insect on you," he growled against her ear. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back and offering her neck as their combined strength made short, messy, work of their clothing. The water came on automatically, and it rained down over them, drenching them in moments. _

"_Do it," she gasped against his lips. "Get his stench off of me, wash it away. Make me yours, Khan."_

_He wrenched one leg over his hip, pressing himself against her as he steadied her against the slippery tiles. She clasped him tightly, smiling as his teeth made a small series of biting, sweet caresses that felt more tender than a thousand kisses. His hand trailed down from her hip, sliding over her wet folds and into her, making her rock against his hand._

_All memory of the attack faded under Khan's claiming hands and kiss, as he began to press into her, replacing his fingers with something far more pleasurable. Cassia eagerly rolled her hips against him, instinct guiding her where her memories of another time had been erased, and they paused when he was fully within her. _

"_My love," he whispered against her lips, before they kissed, gently, an affirmation. This had been building between them for months, ever since they first met and only the guards' watchful eyes had prevented them from acting on their shared desire and attachment earlier. It would, no doubt, be construed as weakness but they underestimated the strength of the two Augments. They were no weak humans who could be torn apart with as much ease as a piece of paper, but genetically superior. Khan belonged to her, and Cassia belonged to him. No deity could help whoever tried to separate them._

_They moaned in unison as they moved together, hips rolling and undulating in a primitive dance, their lips never separating, as they breathed each other in, every moan and gasp, every sigh of their names and the need to claim and be claimed._

_As her climax grew, Cassia tore herself away from her lover's mouth, mouthing down the line of his neck and shuddering with pleasure as he did the same. As her climax washed over her, the hot water almost a torture for their sensitive skin, twice that of a human's when aroused, she bit down on his shoulder, and as he roared her name, she felt his teeth puncture the skin of her neck._

_Marking her as she had marked him. One hand buried in his sodden, dark hair, she closed her eyes and clasped him close._

"_You belong to me now. Never forget it…" Khan's voice rasped hoarsely against her ear, as she shuddered-_

* * *

"Commander, are you alright?" a voice woke Cassandra from her sleep, as she started upright. Two women, one human and the other Orion, watched her concernedly.

"It's not a good idea to fall asleep in a sauna," the Orion continued, her nose flaring as she no doubt smelled the arousal Cassandra's dream had evoked. Stricken and confused, she pushed them aside with a barked "I'm fine!" and rushed out of the sauna to the changing rooms.

* * *

As Cassandra strode towards the Daystrom building, the city lit up around her and bustling with life, she forced all thoughts of her dream in the sauna out of her head, no matter how many times her head replayed those last few words.

Usually details of her dreams faded within a few hours, but in the seven hours since leaving the gym, not only could she easily remember every detail, she saw them again when she closed her eyes. Gritting her teeth, barely daring to blink, she smoothed down the grey panels of her formal uniform and walked inside the towering, cylindrical building.

Once she was through security, she took the turbolift up to the top floor. As soon as the doors _swished_ shut, she let out a sigh of relief. Ever since that last dream, she'd felt fragile, taut with some unknown inner tension, as if the cool, cold mask she had always relied on to remain sane was slipping away.

"_You belong to me…"_

That voice, seemingly as cool and calm as she, but the husky tone, the undertone of danger and warning and possessiveness. Who was he?

The turbolift slowed, and she snapped out of her thoughts, unnecessarily smoothing down her uniform again before she forced her hands away with a glare at her own reflection in the turbolift doors. She never became nervous, so why start it now?

Up ahead, in the corridor, were two, tall and muscular backs, one black-haired and the other fair as the sun. She could just see the tip of pointed ears and from the bickering, she surmised these were the infamous Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock. Or rather, both commanders now that Kirk had been demoted.

They paused when they heard the heels of her boots against the marble flooring, and Kirk's formerly sullen face instantly perked up. Cassandra mentally rolled her eyes.

"Why hello, Commander?" he began, walking backwards to keep up with her as she walked past Spock with a cordial nod that he returned.

"Mason," she replied shortly. "Excuse me."

As Kirk stopped trying to keep up with her, she breathed a sigh of relief, just as she heard his muttered "Ouch. Well that's it. Lost my ship, my command and now my touch. The world is ending."

"I do not understand how 'losing your touch' constitutes the ending of the world-?" Spock replied and even Cassandra smirked when she heard Kirk's reply.

"Never mind, Spock."

* * *

As she entered the meeting room, she scanned the occupants for Tregannan, her tall, dark-skinned commanding officer, and found him talking to Admiral Pike. He nodded to her, and she walked over just as Admiral Marcus called everyone to order.

As they sat down, she sensed someone's gaze on her, and irritated by the thought of Kirk trying to flirt, _again_, she glanced up with a glare, not to see Kirk but Marcus watching her, calculatingly and with a hint of unease in his cold eyes.

Refusing to be cowed, she stared back until he sighed and started the briefing. "Thank you for convening on such short notice. Be seated."

As everyone sat down, their screens flared to life, and Cassandra felt a jolt as a familiar face filled the screen, while Marcus's voice droned on in her ears. "By now, some of you have heard what happened in London. The target was a Starfleet Data Archive, now it's a damp hole in the ground, 42 men and women are dead. One hour ago, I received a message from a Starfleet Officer who confessed to carrying out this attack, that he was being forced to do it by this man. Commander John Harrison."

Cassandra felt the air leave her lungs like she'd been sucker-punched in the gut. _"You belong to me now…"_

"He's one of our own, and he's the man responsible for this act of savagery," Marcus continued but Cassandra barely heard him now, her eyes set on the cool, blue eyes of the man looking up at her from the screen. She knew him… "For reasons unknown, John Harrison has just declared a one-man war against Starfleet, and under no circumstances are we to allow this man to escape Federation space. You here tonight represent the senior command of all the vessels in the region, and in the name of those we lost, you will run this bastard down. This is a manhunt, pure and simple, so let's get to work. Do I have your attention, Commander Mason?"

She was jerked from her distraction, and met Marcus's eyes, and was disturbed to see the glee hidden in them. A slight smirk lingered on his lips, so tiny but still there. Something amused him.

"Yes, Sir," she replied shortly, sitting up a little straighter as Tregannan glanced at her in concern. "My apologies, Admiral."

Marcus inclined his head, almost sardonically, making her bristle, before he continued the briefing. "Earth's perimeter sensors have not detected any warp signatures leaving the system so we…-"

Cassandra zoned out again, Marcus's voice becoming background noise under the confusion of her own thoughts. That face, that body, she knew them. How could the man she had dreamed of be there? In the security images on her holoscreen?

"Cassie, what the hell's got into you?" Tregannan hissed at her, and she glanced at him and saw his eyes widen in concern. "What is it?"

_Cassia…_

"I know him," she breathed. "I've seen him before."

Just as Tregannan opened his mouth to speak again, Marcus's booming voice asking what Kirk was thinking punctured their conversation.

"Why the Archive? All that information is public record, if he really wanted to damage Starfleet," Kirk began, and her head snapped around to face him, a stray curl of hair escaping her chignon. Her brain snapped back into focus, and cold realisation washed over her as her ears detected the oncoming noise of rotors approaching the building. A jumpship. "This could just be the beginning."

"The beginning of what, Mr Kirk?" Marcus asked.

"Sir, in the event of an attack protocol mandates that senior command gather, with their captains and first officers, at Starfleet HQ, right here in this room," Kirk finished, and all the commanding officers glanced at one another uneasily.

"He would know that," Cassandra breathed. "If he was one of us, he would know that." The sound of rotors was getting closer.

"It is curious Harrison would commandeer a jumpship without warp capability-" Spock agreed, as Cassandra stood, her blood thrumming with energy as the lights of the jumpship pierced the glass windows of the room.

"He's here," she whispered, just before all hell broke loose.

* * *

Phaser cannon fire filled the room, as Cassandra threw herself aside on instinct, broken glass showering the senior officers as screams and cries of pain filled the air. As she landed hard, knocking the wind from her, she looked sideways to see Tregannan, dead, his eyes wide and glassy, his side smoking from the direct hit. A detached sense of grief filled her, and she grabbed her phaser from the holster at her hip, shoving her dishevelled hair from her eyes as she scrambled for cover before taking aim.

The jumpship hovered right outside the briefing room, as the few officers unharmed fired back, joined by the security teams outside. They were dropping like flies.

She spotted Kirk running for a side corridor, a phaser rifle in his arms, and threw herself out into the melee, dodging phaser bursts with an agility which startled her. She saw him shooting at the jumpship and something within her screamed _No_, and she raised her hand, shooting at the jumpship's blastshield.

The smoke and flash from the phaser cannons cleared, and she stood, phaser raised, ready to fire, as she locked eyes with the man in the cockpit.

Even with the distance between them, she could see chiselled features, pale skin painted almost gold in the light from the firefight, dark hair swept back from his face, his cold eyes locking onto her with a predatory glare.

Then he stopped, his eyes widening, as something akin to pain and disbelief flashed across his face.

Despite herself, despite the rage burning inside of her at the death of Tregannan, she took a step forward, then snarled and fired off shot after shot, but it did little damage against the alloy metal of the jumpship, except to leave phaser burns.

His mouth formed a single word, as she stepped closer, rage making her reckless, that made her stop short. _Cassia…_

Another word dropped from her lips without her volition, and she shivered. "Khan…"

Suddenly the jumpship shuddered, juddering about as it struggled to stay airborne, and Cassandra realised that Kirk had tied the hose from an extinguisher to his rifle and threw it at the rotor, as it was sucked in and the engine shredded itself to pieces along with the rifle. The jumpship began to rotate and fall, swaying from side to side, as she glimpsed Harrison…_Khan_, _her mind whispered_, fight to steady it. His eyes snapped back up to hers, and she glimpsed his hands flying across the readout displays in the cockpit.

Just as she felt the tingle that always came just before beaming somewhere, she saw the same curls of energy engulfing Harrison's body, as his form disintegrated from view and the jumpship fell from sight.

Unnoticed by the few survivors of the attack, Cassandra's body disintegrated too.

* * *

She gasped, shuddering, as she fell to her knees on rough dirt, cold winds ruffling her ruined hair, the ground scraping her bare knees. _Transwarp beaming…_her mind murmured, as she coughed.

"Cassia…" a voice, smooth as silk and seductive as sin, made her freeze as she looked up slowly. She wasn't alone.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

Down The Rabbit Hole

Warnings: Mild violence. Explicit content warning below the third line break for those who feel uncomfortable with such content. You won't miss any relevant information by not reading it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

_**A/N: **_**Ok, I got bitten by the John Harrison/Khan bug. Sorry Loki! Also, I am completely overwhelmed by the incredible response to this fic! Thank you so much!**

* * *

Cassandra's gaze travelled up, over calf-length boots just marred by the dust of whatever planet they were on, dark combat trousers which clung to muscled thighs, over a narrow waist and broad shoulders covered by a grey greatcoat, to his face.

Pale, chiselled and sensually beautiful, just as she remembered from her dreams.

But his eyes were the most familiar. How many times had she awoken from dreams and the only detail she could vividly remember was the pair of icy blue, piercing eyes watching her?

He spoke again, that name, the name that was both strange and familiar to her. "Cassia…"

She scrambled backwards, shrinking from him even as every cell in her body was urging her to go to him. "What the hell are you talking about and where are we?" she snapped briskly, as he started towards her.

"Qo'noS," he paused, holding his hands up to show they were empty.

She stared at him. "Are you mad?" she spat. "We're one intergalactic incident away from war with the Klingons and you beam us here!"

"Do not be afraid, Cassia," he told her again; as she forced herself upright, dusting off her uniform skirt. "We are currently in an uninhabited province of the planet. There's minimal chance we will be discovered."

"Somehow, I don't find that reassuring," she snarled, stepping back as he moved forward again, his greatcoat flaring in the high winds of the wasteland they were currently standing in, temple-like monolithic ruins stretching out over their heads and into the distance. "And why do you keep calling me that? Cassia is not my name."

"Who are you?" he breathed.

"Commander Cassandra Mason, first officer of the U.S.S Hotspur, acting captain now you murdered Captain Tregannan," she spat, glaring at him fiercely. "Now, Mr Harrison, how about we get to the part where I take you back to Starfleet to stand trial for everything you've done?"

"Your empty bravado is pointless," he retorted, as an achingly familiar smirk played over his features, the wind ruffling his hair. "You always were spirited."

"Stop talking like you know me. You don't," she snapped angrily, folding her arms as he towered over her. "You are a cold-blooded murderer, Harrison-"

"That is not my name!" he snarled suddenly, jerking her into his arms with an iron hold around her arms. "You know my name, I saw you say it back at Starfleet Headquarters, and somehow I doubt Admiral Marcus divulged the true nature of my attack, so you know another way. Say it!"

"You're hurting me!" Cassandra glared at him, but although the grip felt strong enough to break her arms, she felt a similar strength running through her.

"I really don't think I am, Commander Mason," he growled, drawing out the syllables of her surname and rank mockingly. "If I am harming you, push me away. If not, then say my true name!"

"No!" she growled through gritted teeth, shoving at him. To her surprise, he was forced back a few feet, and she stared at him, shocked. He watched her, intently, as a slow smile, one she knew she really shouldn't like, grew on his lips.

"That would have been impossible for any normal human, which brings me back to reiterate my previous question," he continued nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just shoved someone away who had already shown an inhuman amount of strength. "Who are you?"

"What do you mean, impossible for any _normal_ human?" she asked in turn, panting a little in the thinner atmosphere of Qo'noS. "And why are you so insistent you know who I am?"

Harrison regarded her through those disturbing eyes for a few moments more, before he held out his hand invitingly. "I will answer your questions, Commander, but perhaps it is better done in less inhospitable surrounds," he said, at her suspicious look. "I brought you here, and currently I remain your only way back. I doubt somehow the Klingons will be amenable once they discover a Human female on their home planet."

* * *

She glared at him, but took his hand, allowing him to lead her away. They navigated a series of tunnels and wide, cavernous halls, almost cathedral-like in their ruined majesty.

"These were once monasteries, during the Klingons' early history," Harrison explained to her as they walked. "Long abandoned."

He led her up a passageway, the steps crumbling beneath her boots, into a large room, overlooking the complex below them, visible only through a crack in the stone walls. Inside were Starfleet issued field lamps and equipment, including what looked like a phaser pulse cannon, and a rifle. A small bench held more equipment, most of which Cassandra didn't recognise, as she eyed it curiously. A small cot stood behind the bench, and she forced her eyes away from it.

"You've planned this for awhile," she breathed in realisation. He glanced at her as he shrugged off his greatcoat, revealing the simple black shirt of Starfleet Intelligence. "Why did you bomb the Kelvin Memorial Archive? What was Marcus hiding?" she asked suddenly, folding her arms defiantly and eying him the same way she would a crewman who failed to get his report in to her by the deadline. He eyed her, clearly amused.

"The Kelvin Memorial Archive was in fact a Section 31 secret facility building and testing weapons for a war your Admiral Marcus believes is fast approaching," he replied.

"With the Klingons," she finished, as he nodded.

"Weapons _**I **_designed and built," he continued, turning his back to her. "You wish to know why I did what I did, Commander?"

He went to a holoscreen, and she was slightly horrified and impressed to realise that he had a direct access to Starfleet records. How did he access the system without alerting Starfleet Intelligence now he was a fugitive?

"The truth is, Commander," he continued, as she watched his back intently. "I was one of 74 genetically engineered individuals created during the wars of the early 21st Century, the Eugenics Wars I believe you call them now. After we were cast out into exile, we froze ourselves in cryotubes, hoping that when we awoke, the galaxy might have changed. Admiral Marcus began aggressively searching unexplored regions of the galaxy for new technologies to use in his war, and he found our ship, the S.S Botany Bay. I was awoken, to be used for my intellect and savagery, while the other 72 were kept as hostages in their cryotubes. When I escaped, I knew Marcus would not hesitate to destroy them, so I responded in kind."

"Assuming I believe any of this fairytale you've come up with, you said 74 of your people were frozen," she began carefully, as he turned back to face her, his face haunted and dark as he stared at her. Something within her rose in response, making her gasp but she held it in. "Who else was awoken?"

"My lover," he replied, his tone suddenly so bleak she ached to comfort him. Tamping the urge down, she listened instead. "Cassia. Our cryotubes were primed to deactivate together in the event of one of us awakening, or our ship entering the pull of a gravitational well of a planet. She awoke with me, and they took her away while we were still weakened by the de-freezing process…I believed her dead, until tonight…"

"You can't possibly think…that _**I **_am…her!" she breathed heatedly, stepping back unconsciously as he moved towards her purposefully. He smiled, a knowing, wicked smile that made her shiver.

"Who else would be so drawn to the murderer of her own people, unless of course, she knew they were not her own and he was," he replied, sparking her anger and she lashed out at him, backhanding him across the jaw, drawing blood from his lip. He watched her calculatingly, wiping the blood away with his thumb. "Once again, you show strength where no human would possess it. Physical fitness above species' average, it says on your personnel file,"

He began to pace around her in a circle, his clothes brushing hers as she sucked in a breath. "I make sure to keep in shape," she replied coldly. He went on, his words gliding down her spine like honey on her skin.

"Your mental aptitude and all test scores are perfect," he whispered in her ear. "Your psyche profile, however, is somewhat wanting. A tragic accident which deprived you of your family also deprived you of your memory up until you awoke from the accident, two years ago. Vivid nightmares, dreams, which affect your working life, as well as tendencies for impatience, independence and intolerance of others' weaknesses. Has shown an alarming amount of savagery in close combat situations."

"That doesn't mean anything," she protested quietly.

"Doesn't it?" he whispered, and she saw her image on the screen behind him, her psyche evaluations and vital statistics displayed for him to read. "You know more than you realise, Cassandra."

Images stirred in Cassandra's mind, snatched echoes of conversations, sensations ghosting over her skin as he stepped close, close enough that she felt drowned in the heat emanating from his body.

Panic lanced through her, and she reacted, driving her elbow back into his solar plexus. He fell back with a grunt, as instinct had her dropping into an ankle sweep which landed him on his back on the rocky floor.

Shock made her freeze, as she stared down at Harrison, laid out before her, watching her patiently. That wasn't a move taught by Starfleet hand-to-hand combat instructors; that had been pure instinct, a skill she had no memory of acquiring. Abruptly her world tilted, as she felt his boot hook around her ankle and force her down onto him. She was left straddling his waist, and she grabbed his wrists before he could reach for her, pre-empting his move, and pinned them to the floor above his head.

When she realised what she'd done, she blinked at him in horror, lying beneath her quietly, staring up at her with something like pity in his eyes, and was that…wonder?

"There she is, there's my Cassia," he breathed fiercely. "We would often play games such as this, do you remember?"

"No," she breathed, trying to push away the heat building within her at the feel of his muscled body beneath her own, the strong planes of his abdomen pressing against the tense muscle of her thighs. "Stop this, please."

"I thought you dead, my love," he said quietly, so simply and earnestly, lying passively beneath her, though instinct warned it was only for now. The word dropped from her lips before she could force it back.

"_Khan_…" she whispered and they both froze, triumph flashing in his eyes, eyes so familiar to her, and she could feel more disorientating flashes of sound and images across her mind's eye. She couldn't fight it anymore. She released his wrists, and what was meant to be just letting him go turned into a sensuous caress, as she trailed her hands and fingers down his taut arms, and settled them on his chest, over his heart, beating twice as fast as a human's.

His hands dropped, and lowered to where her legs bent at the knee against his side, curling around the muscle as he drew them up, making her shudder violently, unable to move her gaze away from his. "I know this is confusing for you, my love," he breathed as he slowly sat up, his hands gliding over her hips to her waist and pulling her forward into him. "Much of what you are has been suppressed, but I can help you regain it and find the truth. I will help you become who you truly are, once more."

"Everything is so confusing, it has been for so long," she gasped weakly, as one hand left her waist to slide into her hair, caressing her skin comfortingly. So familiar. She closed her eyes as his forehead touched hers. "How will you help me?"

They were so close, they were almost kissing. "With my blood," he replied. "A transfusion of my blood should be able to break down whatever chemical blockers Marcus used to suppress your memories and enhanced abilities."

Everything seemed to happen in a daze after that, as Cassandra watched him get to work, taking a sample of his blood from his arm and then transferring it to a hypospray injector. He turned back to face her, and took a step forward.

Restraining the urge to step back from him, she took a deep breath and held out her arm. "Don't be afraid," he murmured soothingly, and she spared him a cold glare.

"I'm not afraid," she replied quietly, pushing aside the part of her screaming at her, telling her not to do this, not to trust him. Some part of her intrinsically did, however, and it was far stronger than the other. A memory of the glee in Marcus's eyes when they fell on her at the briefing washed over her, and her fist clenched. _The sick bastard probably found it funny, setting me on Khan, watching me hunt him down, __**IF **__Khan's right about this…_

"No, you never were," he chuckled, taking hold of her arm and raising the injector.

She was braced for the usual discomfort when the injector forced the blood into her own, but she was unprepared for the burning pain that engulfed her entire body as she cried out. Khan reached out to steady her, but she collapsed to her knees, pressing her face into his abdomen as her screams echoed around the chamber.

Everything was a chaotic rush of noise, light, sound, colour, sensations and images, overwhelming her senses. Fire raced along her every nerve, through her muscles and bones, and every part of her screamed in agony. She heard Khan calling her name, both names, as the blank that had always filled her mind was filled once more, the fog lifted from her mind.

The pain stopped almost as soon as it started, and she panted against Khan's body, every sense raw and aching.

Suddenly sensation overwhelmed pain, and suddenly, she felt _**everything**_. The muscled male gently holding her arms, calling her names, was known. The scent filling her senses was known, the sound of his name on her lips was lovingly known.

She looked up, into blue eyes so full of hope and relief, as she smiled, feeling the alien irritation of tears on her cheek, formed by pain. "Khan," she breathed his name, and he smiled, dropping to his knees and hauling her into his embrace.

"What do you remember?" he asked, inhaling the scent of her hair, as she held him close, just to centre herself in a suddenly whirling world.

"It's all so…fragmented, disconnected," she breathed, pulling back slightly to meet his piercing gaze. She laid a hand against his cheek and he inhaled sharply. "I remember…I remember us."

"Then tell me what I said to you, moments after we made love for the first time, and where," he said fiercely, and she smiled, concentrating for second but the images came fast, making her shiver.

"You belong to me now. Never forget it," she whispered. "In the showers at Base 411269, where we first met, in 2012, just before we were shipped out to the battle of Srebrenica."

Khan's breath came from him in a shuddering, long exhale, as he pulled her back to him, cradling her against him. "I thought I lost you forever."

"There are still gaps. My memory has not returned fully," she whispered and she felt him nod.

"They will return in time," he replied huskily, as she glanced up at him. She smiled and reached up, desperate to feel his lips on hers after three hundred years of separation.

* * *

His lips were on hers in a microsecond, and she gasped as her body came alive at the sensation. He pulled her up against him, and she moaned, sliding her hand into his hair, ruffling the dark waves, as he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He picked her up and laid her out beneath him on the field cot.

It was uncomfortable but no worse than they had experienced before. She could remember that much, as she moaned when Khan's mouth left her mouth to trail down her neck, his impatient hands pulling apart the sides of her uniform jacket. Her hands restlessly caressed the strong muscles of his back, delighting in the feel of shifting muscle against her palm as she rocked her hips against his.

Teeth sank into her neck and she cried out, an abandoned smile on her lips.

"Three hundred years," she groaned, taking off her uniform jacket and throwing it away herself. "Whose damn idea was it to sleep for three hundred years?"

"Jason's, if I recall correctly," he growled against her, as she yanked his shirt over his head, revealing his pale, perfect torso to her hands and mouth. "Enough talk and just kiss me, woman."

"Finally, you start talking sense," she hissed at him teasingly, inwardly amazed at how quickly she slipped back into their old way of speaking. He grinned evilly, and then his lips were back on hers, his tongue dominating hers in an endless fight that neither ever won. He tore at her shirt and bra, before going for her boots, unzipping them slowly as she laid back, watching him with a coy smirk.

She unzipped her skirt herself, as first one boot fell to the floor, then the other, taking her stockings and underwear with the now shapeless grey material, and throwing them into whatever dark corner she'd thrown her jacket and shirt. She pushed herself up on her knees, flicking her hair loose from its last restraints and reaching for Khan's trousers. The skin-tight material peeled away, and he grasped her wrists, stopping her and pushing her back onto the cot, while he took care of the remainder of his clothing himself.

Then he was back on her, covering her with his warmth, their limbs tangling together as their lips met, and their bodies echoed their kiss, merging together. When she felt him inside of her, she cried out and dug her nails into his back, marking his skin, barely able to feel where her body ended and his began. Just like they were always meant to be.

"Remember this?" he murmured huskily, against her neck as he rocked into her, his superhuman strength and speed making their movements all the more intense as she matched him, stroke for stroke.

"Memory's a bit hazy. Care to remind me?" she joked, as he growled and pinned her to the cot, one hand gently but firmly pressed against her neck, not to harm but merely to hold her as his other traced torturously down her body, grazing her breasts, palm flattening over her abdomen and down, to where their bodies joined. She clasped his wrist to feel his movements as he teased her between thrusts, but he released her neck to pin her wrists above her head, trapping her beneath him. She met his feral grin with one of her own, her eyes darkening as release approached.

She clasped her legs around his hips, using her ever increasing strength to pull him into her, jerking her hips up and drawing a groan from his lips, before he covered her own again in a passionate, bitingly possessive kiss.

Her memory was still fragmented, she was still confused by so much, and her strength had yet to return to so much as tithe of her full power, but for the first time in her life, Cassandra…Cassia, felt whole again.


	4. Chapter 4

Down The Rabbit Hole

Warnings: Some bad language.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Cassia stirred, sunk deep in warmth, as she frowned against the headache forming behind her temples. Delicious memories washed across her mind, and she shivered, reaching across for Khan, but her hand met empty, cold bed linen. What?

She opened her eyes, the red bedcovers of her bed in San Francisco sliding down her naked shoulder. She sat upright, eyes blinking against the sunlight as the blinds automatically retracted.

How…? Her thought trailed off as she closed her eyes, a silent snarl turning her features almost bestial for a moment. Khan. The bloody bastard had beamed her back while she was sleeping. Why?

She was going to kill him when she caught up with him again. But how to do so? Qo'noS was the one place in the galaxy Starfleet could not go, and somehow with the no doubt raised security, she doubted she would make it out of the solar system, and there was Marcus to consider.

Rage boiled deep within Cassia, cold and harsh, and the need for vengeance welled up inside of her. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm. Blind emotion wouldn't help her in this instance.

_I'm starting to sound like a bloody Vulcan!_

With a determined nod to herself, she flung the covers of her bed back and slipped her legs out of bed, noting her complete nudity. _What, couldn't find the time to at least put some clothes on me, lover? _She thought sardonically. How he had managed to get the jump on her without her waking up, she didn't know. She paused for a moment, testing herself, and was pleased to feel the increased strength in her muscles, the sensitivity of her eyes, ears and skin. Her full strength was returning.

Her memory, however, was still flawed. Dark gaps lingered, and she cursed Marcus under her breath again for doing this to her. She cursed Khan for sending her back to the one place she didn't want to be as well. With a snarl, she grabbed a PADD on her bedside table and flung it against the opposite wall, embedding it deep into the plaster. She stopped, breathing hard with rage and betrayal, as snatches of memory washed through her.

_Hands around her arms…hauling her away…Khan's voice calling her name, his tone steeped in agony and rage…self-satisfied blue eyes in an aged face watching her dispassionately… "Sedate her…"_

"Cassia…"

Her eyes flew open, and she whirled around, forgetting her nakedness, to see the familiar features of her lover filling the view screen of her personal workstation. "Khan," she growled. "You are in some deep trouble right now. Why did you send me back?"

"Cassia," he began soothingly, but it just annoyed her even more, as she folded her arms and glared at him. "It was necessary. Marcus will no doubt be sending one of his pets after me to exact revenge, and while my blood is working to reawaken your superior DNA, you are still volatile and your abilities not yet fully returned. I need you safe."

"Safe being sending me back to a planet inhabited by a man who knows of my connection to you and is probably sending agents after me already?" she replied sarcastically. "I think 300 years on ice has fried your brain."

"Oh, I've forgotten what a fire spirit you are when you're angered," he chuckled, sinfully dark as she glared at him, refusing to react despite the shivers running down her spine. "Believe me, love, it was not an easy decision to make."

"Nice try, 'love', but the smooth talk isn't working. Enjoying the view, are we?" she asked, as his eyes swept down her body and back up to her eyes, with a dark, unrepentant smirk. "Pity I'm not there for you to do anything about it."

"Yes, pity," he replied, huskily and she rolled her eyes even as his tone sent shudders rippling down her spine. She reached for a robe and belted it tightly, glaring at the screen pointedly. He sighed. "You are perfectly safe, Cassia. Your return has not been detected and Marcus believes you are with me, a fact he will not be sharing with anyone he sends after me. If you lay low, you will be able to escape detection until I can come for you. Rest assured, my love, I _**will **_come for you," he finished earnestly.

She watched him, her mind racing, before she sighed in a show of despondency. "Alright then. You're right, my abilities are still intermittent and I am not returned to full strength. But I am not happy about this, Khan. There is still so much that's unclear in my head, and I need you with me," she breathed, reluctantly. The hard planes of his face softened and he smiled at her tenderly.

"Soon, my love," he told her softly. "As soon as we are rid of Admiral Marcus, we will be together again. Be patient."

"Aren't I always?" she joked weakly, and he chuckled.

"Never. Stay safe, Cassia," he replied, and she arched an eyebrow as he sighed exasperatedly.

"I think you've forgotten who you're talking to, love. And the same goes for you," she retorted, as he nodded, and the screen went blank, Khan's face substituted to the Starfleet insignia. A poor exchange, in Cassia's opinion. A slow, sly smile spread across her lips, as she stood. "See you soon, lover," she whispered, turning away to shower and dress as quickly as possible.

She had no intention of staying on Earth.

* * *

With the technical knowledge from her Starfleet training and the memories coming back to her, it had been child's play, both to forge transfer orders and to dupe the Security sensors into believing she was someone else, to evade Marcus's clutches. After dressing, she had managed to hack into Starfleet data banks, and found the casualty list of those killed at the briefing. If she knew Marcus, he wouldn't hesitate to use another to get to Khan and start a war with the Klingons he already thought inevitable. She guessed it would most likely be the U.S.S Enterprise, considering she was the fastest, largest and newest of the ships in the region, and her newly reinstated Captain now had a score to settle with her lover. James T. Kirk.

The gold command dress she wore beneath her shuttle uniform felt too familiar, as she forced back a shudder of revulsion as the humans scurried past her. All that time, she had been duped into thinking she was one of them, and all the time, the signs had been there. The memory loss, the psyche evaluations, the feeling that she simply didn't _**belong**_. Subconsciously, she had always known.

As she entered the main hangar bay, she spotted Kirk, Spock and another man, dark-haired and ruffled-looking, with the constantly pinched look of the overworked and over harried. He was darting around Kirk with a medical case, and she nodded to herself. Doctor Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, chief medical officer aboard the Enterprise.

"Captain Kirk!" she called, hurrying across, clutching her bag and fake transfer orders. The tall blonde turned, and gone was the flirtatious, boyish grin. Now he looked haunted and wan. She almost felt pity for him, were it not for what she had suffered at Starfleet's hands.

"Commander Mason!" he inclined. "What can I do for you?"

"Transfer orders from Admiral Marcus," she said, presenting the data screen to him, as he glanced over it. "As an observer, of course. I have some knowledge of Qo'noS and information on the fugitive which might prove useful."

"You know Harrison?" Kirk glanced up, suspicious and she shrugged.

"I have worked with him before, as colleagues," she explained. Lies that were half-truths were always the easiest to tell. Spock eyed her intently, his cool Vulcan gaze making her uneasy, but she ignored him, focussing on Kirk. "Please, Captain. You were not the only one to lose a commanding officer and a friend to that bastard."

Again, half a truth. Tregannan had been the closest thing she had to a friend onboard the Hotspur, and she mourned his death, even as she felt anger at Khan for his actions. Her mind was still adjusting to the extra data that was suddenly a part of it, and her emotions were flaring wildly. She only hoped she could retain control.

Kirk met her gaze, considering, and she reflected how open and easy his gaze was to read. He would never have survived in the wars Cassia had fought in, with his easygoing manner and guileless mind. She could practically see the moment he accepted the transfer order, and he nodded once. "Ok, Commander. Welcome aboard," he gestured for her to go ahead of him onto the shuttle craft, and she nodded her thanks.

* * *

She knew the Vulcan was suspicious of her, and of the pretty little blonde weapons expert who had transferred aboard the Enterprise too. She wasn't surprised when he cornered her in the turbolift on the way up to the bridge, just as they were twenty minutes out from Qo'noS.

They stood in silence for a few moments, until Cassia finally turned to face him. "Something is clearly on your mind, Commander Spock, so let's have it out, shall we?" she asked, as Spock turned to face her, his gaze cool and blank. For being half-human, he was damn good.

"Despite the authenticity of your transfer orders and I believe a sincere anger over your commanding officer's death, I sense that somehow your motives for accompanying us are not what they appear," he replied.

"Blunt, but effective," she inclined her head. "What are my motives, then?"

"There are, no doubt, several possibilities considering what we now know of John Harrison's identity and your own association with him," he continued, watching her carefully, waiting for her to react. She just smiled blandly as the turbolift opened.

"I assure you Commander Spock, there is nothing more I want in this galaxy than to find Harrison and give him what he deserves," she told him coolly, before turning away and walking onto the bridge, feeling his gaze on her back with every step but she refused to react.

Khan would get what he deserved all right, after she was finished strangling him for his presumption in sending her back to Earth. Besides, she still had questions and only Khan held the answers.

Like what had happened to the other 72 Augments who were aboard the Botany Bay. Jason, Aeryn, Cal, John, Lyra, Simon, Arya and the others, were they still alive? Or were Khan and Cassia the last two of their people left?

* * *

She was not surprised when Kirk changed his mind to capture, rather than execute, Khan. For all his bravado and thirst for vengeance, she could see he had a weakness for doing what was right, and murdering a man without trial, regardless of his crimes, was something he had been brought up to abhor. She could respect that, and she had every intention of using it to her advantage.

As Kirk left his chair, she stepped forward. "Captain, allow me to volunteer for the away team. I have knowledge of the region we are about to fly through and my combat skills are above average," she quickly stated, as he eyed her cautiously, in her golden command uniform. Spock stood behind him, and she could see the spark of suspicion in his dark, alien eyes.

"Permission granted. Change into civilian clothing and meet us in the shuttle bay," he told her shortly, as she nodded and turned about. She could only imagine the argument over her that was about to ensue between Kirk and his first officer. The thought made her smirk to herself, as she stepped inside the turbolift, followed by Lieutenant Uhura.

"I was sorry to hear about Captain Tregannan," the dark-skinned Communications officer murmured, and Cassia smiled wanly.

"Thank you," she breathed. Silence fell once more, and she felt ridiculously uncomfortable. "I heard you can speak Klingon?"

"Yes, three dialects of it," the Lieutenant said with just a hint of pride. Cassia was faintly impressed. Languages were not something she had learned much of, in either lives. "Hopefully, I won't need it."

"Hopefully. Harrison won't go down without a fight," Cassia felt somehow compelled to warn her, as she glanced at the other in surprise.

"I know that," she replied quietly. "But Kirk lost someone who was almost a father to him that night. Vengeance driven by love can be a powerful thing. Pike was a good man."

Cassia had heard tell of the respected Admiral enough times to realise that. "Yes, he was. They all were," she breathed, almost to herself. Except for Marcus. Anger rippled inside of her again, and she was relieved to leave the turbolift with a nod to Uhura. She watched her with a strange look in her eyes, one Cassia was not sure she liked, but it was too late to stop her now. For all her sympathy for the Enterprise crew, after her time among them, her loyalties lay with Khan and her people. She had to remember that, and not let the confusion of her false human life cloud her judgement.

* * *

She gladly swapped her impractical Starfleet uniform dress was leather trousers, calf-length boots, a fitted tank top and a leather flak jacket, untying her hair until it fell in a loose ponytail down her back. Making sure she had no trace of a Starfleet insignia on her person, she glanced outside her quarters' windows to the planet a few thousand kilometres away, dark and grim in the weak sunlight from its star. Qo'noS.

Her communicator chirped, as she flicked it open. "Mason."

_Are you ready, Commander?_ Kirk's voice came over the line, and she rolled her eyes at the impatience there. _Meet us in the shuttle bay, immediately._

"Affirmative, Captain," she muttered, shutting off the communication and tucking it into the waistband of her trousers. She took one last look at the planet, her eyes drifting to the very region they would soon be searching through, and took a deep breath. "I'm coming, my love," she whispered, with a smirk. "Ready or not."

* * *

_To be continued..._


	5. Chapter 5

Down The Rabbit Hole

Warnings: Explicit Violence and suggestive themes. Some instances of bad language.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Once inside, the four Starfleet officers took their seats. The trade shuttle was basic, with no weaponry, but it was fast and agile with its spherical design and six engine boosters. Still, Cassia eyed it dubiously.

"Where did you find this piece of junk?" she asked as she sat down in the secondary pilot's chair. Kirk glanced at her, a teasing glint in his blue eyes.

"Don't call her junk. She's not much but she's fast. She'll do just fine, unless you're feeling scared, Commander?" he asked her, with a roguish wink. "Need me to hold your hand?"

"Need me to break it?" she rejoined, as Kirk winced and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Now, shall I drive or are you too busy wisecracking to fly this crate?"

"Ouch, and it's not wisecracking. It's called flirting," he told her as he strapped himself in. She could feel Uhura's amused looks at them, accompanied by the chilly disapproval of the Vulcan.

"Really? And here I thought it was just idiocy," she muttered, as Kirk muttered something to himself. Cassia rolled her eyes and proceeded to ignore Kirk, as he admittedly took the controls with ease, taking off smoothly and gliding them out of the shuttle bay and into open space with no problems.

"Not bad, Kirk," Cassia muttered, and he grinned to himself.

* * *

As they entered Qo'noS atmosphere, Cassia felt her heart rate rise in anticipation, as the dusty, windswept plains came into view, the sky darkening as they sank below the layer of clouds.

"Captain, I am detecting a single life form in the Ketha province. Given the information provided by Mr Scott, this is most likely John Harrison," Spock informed them in his monotone voice.

"Got you," she muttered under her breath as Kirk nodded to himself, adjusting their course as Cassia punched in the new co-ordinates from Spock's sensor scans.

"Mr Sulu, I think we found our man. Let him know we mean business," Kirk relayed his orders to the Enterprise, the calm voice of Sulu replying in the affirmative.

Sulu's message came over the comm, and Cassia was almost impressed. If her lover had been anyone else, it might have worked. As it was, she knew it would most likely make him amused at best, and annoyed at worst. Fear was not an emotion that Augments were designed to feel. It had been bred out of them long ago.

More memories flashed across her vision, making her lose focus until Kirk's concerned voice cut through her reverie. "Mason! Earth to Mason, you alright over there?" he asked, as she started slightly, shaking herself. "Not getting sleepy on me, are you?"

"I'm fine, just…not been getting much sleep lately," she muttered in explanation, inwardly shaking herself and growling in her head to _focus_.

"We will arrive at Harrison's location in three minutes, Captain," Spock interrupted them, as they flew over a cloud-topped mountain range, before Cassia glimpsed the ruins she remembered from her previous visit. "It is unlikely that he will come willingly. I calculate the odds of him attempting to kill us at 91.6%."

"No shit, Sherlock," Cassia muttered under her breath, Kirk sending her an amused smirk.

"It's a good thing you don't care about dying," Uhura mumbled, as the other three passengers froze.

The bickering that ensued almost made Cassia laugh out loud, were it not for the memories Uhura's anger and Spock's explanation evoked.

* * *

_They waited in the dark and the cold, their bodies covered in combat black and weaponry, finally considered ready to fulfil their duty._

_Cassia simply relished the new surroundings, the end of their time sequestered underground in that infernal compound. Over was the time of experimentation and being treated like a laboratory rodent. Now, they were out in the world and soon that very same world would learn its mistake in believing they could subjugate their own creations._

_She had almost been kept behind. She, and the other female Augments, had almost been kept in confinement, to be artificially inseminated and used as broodmares for the next generation, but for once, Cassia thanked the military power behind Noonien Singh's work that insisted that all Augments were despatched for duty, male and female._

_It meant she would not be separated from the man she loved._

_Khan was their leader, and he stood at their head now, Cassia on his right, Jason, an Augment of Maasai descent on his left, towering even over Khan. He was their explosives expert, and they waited for the signal before they stormed the enemy encampment at Srebrenica._

_It would be the beginning of the end, for the war._

_Khan's eyes almost glowed in the darkness of the arid landscape they hid in, as they met hers and something softened intangibly in their cold depths. He shifted closer to her, his shoulder brushing hers._

"_Soon, my love. Soon, we shall be free," he told her, and she smiled. After tonight, when the humans lay sleeping and satisfied, glutted on their own vanity and self-congratulation after the Augments won the victory for them, they would take control. First here, then they would fan out across the world. _

_They were built to bring order, and order was what they would create. It was the only freedom they would ever be permitted._

"_Try not to get yourself killed," she admonished him quietly, as he frowned down at her. "No, don't you dare give me that look!" she continued fiercely, her voice too low for normal humans to hear. "You know what I mean. Even they have weapons which could threaten us. Just don't go all martyr on me if things don't go according to plan."_

_Khan rolled his eyes. "Your over protectiveness is unnecessary, Cassia-" he began but she cut him off with a slap to his arm._

"_Hark who's talking!? Who starts acting like a gorilla if I so much as leave your side?" she replied sarcastically. It wasn't quite true, but he did turn moody and cold until she returned to him, as she inevitably did. Because of her speed and agility, she and a few other Augments had been utilised as scouts and spies, despite the added dangers that task held. Naturally the humans were too afraid to send their own people, or to use drone planes to reconnoitre an enemy-held region._

_She wouldn't have put it past Khan to snap the Intelligence chief's neck one day, with his particular liking for selecting her for recon assignments, were it not for the coup that would take place soon. Very soon._

_Anticipation and exhilaration began to take hold of Cassia, firing her warrior's blood, even as Khan opened his mouth to retort. Jason's voice, deep and rumbling like a thunderstorm, broke across their banter. "When you two have quite finished arguing like an old married couple…"_

* * *

"Nyota, you mistake my choice not to feel, as a reflection of my not caring," Spock's voice tore her from her memories, as she felt a strange weight settle in her gut at his words. "Well, I assure you, the truth is precisely the opposite."

As his words died on the air, Cassia felt them pierce her heart even so. This band of humans and aliens, especially these three…they were truly a family. As she, Khan and the others had been once.

She felt an alien wetness on her cheek and rubbed it off angrily before the others could notice.

Just then, their ship was rocked by a direct hit to their aft, jolting the Starfleet officers forward in their seats. Immediately, Cassia's eyes scanned her instruments.

"What the hell was that?" Kirk barked.

"We've got one ship on our tail!" she called, as Spock looked up from his own screens.

"We are being pursued by a D4 Class Klingon vessel," Spock told them, his voice conveying both urgency and agitation for all he was an emotionally controlled Vulcan.

"I thought this region was abandoned?" Kirk asked, frowning as he dodged another phaser shot.

"It must be a random patrol," Uhura guessed. "We've lost contact with the Enterprise. They must have hit our communications."

"The D4 Class are notoriously unwieldy in close quarters. They're designed for barrage assaults, not a dogfight," Cassia added, glancing at Kirk. "We might be able to lose them in those ruins."

"Captain, I would not advise it. I calculate we have a 45% chance of surviving this attack if we fly into those structures," Spock butted in, and she glared at him.

"And we have 0% chance of surviving this if we stay in the open!" she snapped at him. "We have no alternative."

"Shut it, the pair of you!" Kirk barked, his tone turning commanding as the pair subsided with cool glares at one another, as another phaser burst grazed their bulkhead. "We're going in! Hold on!"

Kirk opened the thrusters full throttle, sending them into a steep dive. The Klingon ship pursued them into the labyrinthine structures below, firing constantly, the trading ship dodging where it could, but they were getting hit more often than not. Their shields were faltering.

"This ship has no offensive capabilities!" Spock called from his screens, as Cassia rolled her eyes.

"State the obvious much?" she muttered to herself, earning a dark glare from Kirk.

"Yeah, got that. Give me all six fuel cells!" he called back to Spock, the Vulcan giving him as much power as they could spare to boost the engines and their speed. They dipped and dived, banked and spun, evading the Klingons' fire but not their ship. They just couldn't shake them.

"They're closing fast! Bearing 2.8.5!" Uhura called out from her station.

"Diverting all auxiliary power from environmental controls to the engines!" Cassia barked out. "Hope you don't mind getting a bit sweaty."

Her superior physiology barely noticed the temperature rise, but she glimpsed a trail of sweat run down Kirk's temple, as he grimaced.

Kirk banked a corner, and he inhaled sharply. "There, there! We can lose them there!" he called out, his eyes fixed on a small fissure between two structures.

"Someone has a death wish," Cassia muttered sardonically to herself, as Kirk glared at her out of the corner of his eye.

"You're suggesting we utilise the passage between the approaching structures. This ship will not fit!" Spock retorted, sounding harried even for a Vulcan.

"We'll fit," Kirk insisted.

"We will not fit!" Spock barked back, as Cassia, despite their situation, exchanged a long-suffering look with Uhura. By then it was too late, and the gap was on them.

"We'll fit, we'll fit!" Kirk yelled desperately, as he turned the ship 90 degrees, barely scraping through the gap. Metal groaned as it clashed against ancient buildings, Uhura crying out in alarm as the ship's structural integrity took a pounding. They emerged from the other side, panting with adrenaline. "Told you we'd fit," Kirk gasped.

"I'm not sure that qualifies," Spock muttered sullenly, and Cassia suddenly laughed. She felt more alive than she had done in years.

They'd emerged into a rectangular part of the complex, an area which looked familiar to Cassia, and as she looked down, she could see they were not far from Khan's life sign. They were so close…

"Any sign of them?" Kirk called back to Uhura.

"No. Which worries me," she admitted, and Cassia agreed. The Klingons knew these ruins far better than they did, and she doubted they were alone in their patrol. They needed to be careful.

"We lost them!" Kirk smiled triumphantly.

"Or they're jamming our scanners," Uhura pointed out.

"She's got a point," Cassia agreed. "The Klingons will know these ruins far better than us, they could be on us any second."

"Or, we lost them," the obstinate human still insisted, and Cassia felt a rising urge to snap his neck. Tamping it down, she snarled through gritted teeth to vent her rising annoyance. Bright light suddenly filled the cockpit, blinding them momentarily, as they were surrounded by three D4 Class Klingon ships.

"Well, I'd hate to say I told you so…" Cassia trailed off, as Kirk growled at her.

"Has anyone told you how exceedingly annoying you are?" he snapped, as she just smiled airily and exchanged a grimly satisfied look with Uhura. She really was growing to like that human a bit too much.

Guttural Klingon came over the comms, as Uhura translated after a moment, stiltedly. "They're ordering us to land. Captain, they're gonna want to know why we're here. They're gonna torture us, question us and they're gonna kill us."

* * *

Cassia digested that information silently as Kirk glanced around, obviously thinking on options himself. As an Augment, there would be little they could do to harm her short of cutting a limb off, something she did not doubt they would hesitate to do, and her superior strength and speed would help her in an escape attempt. But what of the others? No doubt the men would offer themselves to protect herself and Uhura, and the Klingons would take them first in order to break the men that much quicker. It was a tactic old as time itself.

She could leave them and find Khan, and then they could destroy the Klingons and take the ship back to the Enterprise. Between them, it would not be difficult to overcome the crew and go where they wished.

As she contemplated that plan, something within her, some long-buried and deeply suppressed instinct reared its head and shouted _No_ with all its might. What the hell…?

She growled under her breath. Damnit, she couldn't leave them. She couldn't leave them there to die.

* * *

At the same time as Cassia came to her own decision, Kirk came to his, his voice cool and steady, every inch a Starfleet Captain. "Then we come out shooting."

Uhura left her seat to face Kirk, her voice strong but with an undertone of fear that simultaneously touched and repulsed Cassia. "We're outnumbered, outgunned. There's no way we'll survive if we attack first," she told him, firmly. "You brought me here because I speak Klingon, then let me speak Klingon."

Kirk reluctantly agreed, and they landed in a space clear of detritus, surrounded by the Klingons' ships. Reluctantly, Kirk and Spock allowed Uhura to leave, and as she watched, she saw the steel enter the lieutenant's spine, wiping away any trace of fear, as she walked towards the group of Klingons waiting for her. Any sign of weakness would mean death.

Kirk and Spock briefly argued over Uhura's plan, before Kirk was forced to stand down by Spock's logic, as well as his promise of Uhura's wrath as well as the Klingons.

_Hell hath no fury like a woman…well, not scorned exactly. Perhaps severely pissed off…_

Cassia did not know Klingon, but she guessed the substance of the conversation. With the Klingons, it would be best to be as truthful as possible, while appealing to their warriors' honour. Uhura would use Khan to try and unite them together, at least long enough to get away, by painting him a danger to both worlds.

She gritted her teeth at that thought, even as she understood the reasoning. She ached to see him, she ached to hit him somewhere very vulnerable, even for an Augment, for sending her back. Then maybe she'd kiss him again.

Kirk grabbed phasers for them all, and they settled back down to watch. Cassia felt a twinge of concern, alien and unwelcome in her stomach, for Uhura when the Klingon she had been conversing with grabbed her chin, holding her immobile as he reached for a knife in his boot.

* * *

Cassia and Kirk were up and rushing for the open door before either knew it, but they were too slow. A phaser burst hit the Klingon holding Uhura, distracting him while she ducked and grabbed his knife, stabbing deep into his chest with it.

As soon as she cleared the shuttle, Cassia brought her phaser up and started firing, her enhanced reflexes proving too quick for the Klingons. She found cover and looked up to see a hooded figure in a familiar longcoat, his face partially covered, wielding a phaser cannon and a rifle. She remembered seeing them in his hideout.

Khan.

Her heart beat faster, even as a phaser burst from a Klingon disruptor marked the stone next to her shoulder, and she bared her teeth in anticipation.

Finally, a good fight.

She lost sight of Kirk, Uhura, Spock and the two security officers in the melee of phaser fire and guttural Klingon. A bat'leth swept across her shoulder, severing one of her curls, as she ducked and spun. Snarling, she threw away her phaser, the useless thing no better than a toy.

She backed up, dodging the Klingon's swipes and lunges with ease, laughing as her opponent grew more frustrated and enraged. She was pretty sure whatever he was shouting at her was not complimentary. Probably telling her to stand still and fight like a man, or Klingon…

Frustration and rage were her friends and her weapons. With one overzealous attack, she ducked beneath his swing, broke his wrist and as the Klingon fell to his knees, she spun and drove a knife she'd hidden in her boot deep into his throat. She pushed him back with her boot disdainfully, as another came for her.

Overhead, the Klingon ships dropped like flies from her lover's phaser cannon even as more reinforcements arrived. She despatched one opponent, just to look up and see Kirk pinned by another Klingon's bat'leth, and she threw her knife at his assailant, piercing his shoulder and giving Kirk time to finish him off. The human nodded his thanks, even as his eyes widened and he called out a warning.

"Mason, behind you!"

She felt the blow to the back of her head and went down, rolling with the force until she came back to her feet, smirking as the dull pain the blow caused faded. "Come and get me, big boy," she purred, as the Klingon roared and charged her. She dropped into an ankle sweep, dropping him to his knees. She caught his arm in a lock and snapped it, the Klingon's roars of anger and pain reverberating around the ruins. His other fist came up, and she snapped that one too, looking down on her opponent dispassionately as he roared again. Stepping behind him, she clasped her hands around his head and snapped it sharply to the side, severing his spinal cord.

She looked up to see Kirk's stunned face, shock and disbelief in his sky blue eyes, but she just smiled and turned away. Gone was the confusion and the uncertainty; here and now, she was what she was born to be: a warrior, a killer of truly perfect, clinical savagery.

She was soon distracted by other opponents, undaunted by her strength and speed, as were the others, and she laughed as she led them a merry dance through the ruins, working ever closer to Khan, stood upon his ledge and firing with perfect aim, killing any Klingons who dared get too close.

Just as she filched a knife from one of her newly dead opponents, she felt something pass over her, and looked up to see Khan, his cannon and rifle gone, as he soared over her head, landing behind her.

"Cassia!" he growled, as she ducked a blow from a bat'leth, and knocked the Klingon unconscious.

"Oh, I'm glad to see you too. I'm great by the way," she snapped sarcastically. Khan growled in exasperation, pulling her around by the arm and forcing her deeper into the ruins, as the cries of the Klingons and the shouts of the humans dimmed slightly.

"What are you doing here? I told you to stay on Earth!" he growled as he swung her against a wall.

"I had other plans," she replied defiantly, as he growled again. Pulling him closer, she leaned up as if to kiss him, as his mouth instinctively lowered to hers. And promptly kneed him in the groin. He only collapsed in on himself for about a second, but she still felt satisfaction. "That was for leaving me behind on Earth, you presumptuous bastard!"

He slammed her back against the wall, the stone cracking beneath the force of the blow, but it just increased the arousal in both their eyes. Strength was a part of them, and they used it liberally.

His lips against hers were forceful and possessive, a kiss she returned full force. His hands moulded her body to his, fitting one another like a glove until familiar guttural shouts tore them apart.

They had fought beside one another for years. They knew every flaw and strength of the other, and together they fought as if it were a dance. Khan released her just to use his hold on her wrist to fling her around, her knife flying from her free hand to bury itself in the attacking Klingon's neck.

"You've certainly recovered," Khan commented dryly as he lazily despatched another Klingon, turning to catch a knife thrown at his head and return it fatally to its owner. Cassia smiled as she slid between a Klingon's open legs to twist her legs around his torso and fling him to the floor. As he tried to scramble to his knees, his hand scrabbling for a knife, she spun and lashed out with her foot, driving him into unconsciousness.

"You're not so bad yourself, lover," she smirked, breathing only a little heavily with the exercise and the blood heating in her veins, a feeling she knew was reflected in Khan. Fighting, each other or other opponents, always got their blood up.

Cassia ducked an incoming phaser blast, and then a knife as it sliced through the air towards her. She caught the blade, her palm stinging only a little as it cut into her skin, then flung it back. She felt a presence behind her and spun, but it was only Khan who used his hold on her fist to yank her into his arms.

He smirked wickedly. "Still too impulsive, I see, my love," he hissed, and she shivered, panting.

"And that's why you love me," she retorted, pressing a brief passionate kiss on him. "Careful, the children might see," she teased him, already leaping away. He followed, landing not far from where Kirk, Spock and Uhura were ensconced, the latter two bent over their Captain, winded from his fight with a Klingon.

She could feel the eyes of her human and Vulcan companions on her as she fought, displaying strength, agility and skills not usual for humans. Kirk had seen her kill that Klingon with about as much difficulty as stepping on an ant.

They wouldn't take long to work out the truth. The time for deceptions was over, she'd got what she wanted.

* * *

Khan finished the last of the Klingons, and spun towards the others, grabbing a disruptor and made sure it covered them. Spock picked up one of his own, but Khan ignored him as Cassia followed behind. "Stand down!"

"How many torpedoes?" Khan cried desperately, as she stared at him. What?

"Stand down!" Spock barked again, but Khan just shot the disruptor out of his hands with barely a glance, before resuming his angry questions.

"The torpedoes! The ones you threatened me with in your message! How many are there?" he asked again, almost snarling that last. Cassia looked between him and Kirk, confused.

"72," Spock replied, since Kirk was too busy glaring to say anything. Khan froze, as he glared at the Vulcan, and Cassia's eyes widened. 72 torpedoes…

She knew Marcus had equipped the Enterprise with highly advanced, experimental torpedoes but she hadn't known the exact number. But 72...72 torpedoes for the 72 members of their family, their crew. Could it be…?

She barely dared to hope.

"I surrender," Khan suddenly dropped his weapon, Spock grabbing it and covering them both, as Cassia stared. Her heart felt like it would burst out of her chest.

Kirk staggered to his feet, rage filling his blue eyes as he stared at Khan. "On behalf of Christopher Pike, my friend, I accept your surrender," he said calmly, until he threw the first punch.

Kirk's punches and kicks had no effect on Khan, something they both knew, but the others didn't and Kirk wasn't about to quit even as he staggered from weakness and exhaustion.

"Captain!" Uhura screamed in desperation as Kirk's blows grew both more savage and weaker, as he collapsed to the ground. Finally Cassia had had enough. She could only stand by and watch someone attack the man she loved for so long.

She got between them both, shoving Kirk away, and onto the floor, after his final punch. "Enough!" she snarled, as betrayal filled the eyes of the human in front of her, confusion filling Uhura's eyes. Khan was dishevelled and dirty when she turned to face him, as he looked mockingly down on the weakened Captain.

"Captain?" he muttered, the very word an implied insult as Cassia glared at him warningly.

Kirk glared at her one last time, before he turned away. "Cuff them both," he growled, as Spock and Uhura moved in.

She allowed herself to be cuffed passively, as Khan did the same, and she could see the questions in her lover's, and her companions' eyes. She had a lot of explaining to do, and she had plenty of questions of her own.

She walked towards the shuttle, the wind of Qo'noS howling mournfully around them.


	6. Chapter 6

Down The Rabbit Hole

Warnings: Some violent and explicit content. Also some instances of bad language. There is also a reference to the Holocaust and the Nazis.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

_**A/N: Doing some research on the Eugenics Wars, I realised that my entire timeline for this story is a bit wonky, so if you notice any discrepancies with canon, I am very sorry. I also didn't realise there was only a year's difference between Star Trek and Into Darkness in the story's timeline either. And there is a little TOS reference for those who'll know it. Hope you like!**_

* * *

Cassia was surprised when she was taken to her quarters and allowed to shower, once they returned to the Enterprise. She was covered in grime and blood from the fight, of course, most of it Klingon blood at that; but she hadn't thought Kirk would allow her that considering her all too obvious siding with Khan and use of her abilities during the fight.

Guards were posted outside her door, and she amusedly chuckled to herself. After her display, she would have thought Kirk smart enough to realise that two guards would not be enough to stop her if she wanted to run. Or maybe that was exactly why he knew she wouldn't harm them. She had nowhere to run and what she wanted was onboard anyway.

Kirk was smarter than she thought.

After she had dried off, she eyed her gold command uniform, before putting it away with a firm shake of herself. That life, that _**lie**_ was over.

She dressed in similar attire to that she had worn down on the planet, tight-fitting black trousers and a tank top, leaving her hair loose down her shoulders. She felt the presence of the Security officers at her back, as she turned and faced them questioningly.

"We're to transfer you to the brig, Commander. Captain's orders," one of informed her coolly, his hand close to the hip where his phaser nestled in its holster. She smiled and inclined her head.

"Lead the way, gentlemen," she purred, anticipation rising within her at the thought of being with Khan again, even if it was in separate cells.

* * *

She encountered Kirk just as he was leaving the brig, his eyes raking her coldly. She met his gaze with all the arrogance she possessed, refusing to bend her will before him.

"Put her in with him," he barked to the Security offers abruptly, before he turned back to her with a sneer. "All traitors together."

"I could say the same of you and Admiral Marcus, Kirk," she breathed softly, as he whirled and snapped at her.

"You stood in that room, Mason. You watched him murder good men and women, and you _**helped**_ him," he snarled. "Don't talk to me of betrayal. You've helped the man who murdered your own commanding officer, though now I'm guessing most of that bullshit you fed me was a lie."

"Not entirely," she replied. "I do mourn Henry Tregannan's death, but good people die in war all the time. I've watched most of them firsthand. Starfleet committed a far greater crime than anything I have done, as you'll soon find out."

"Get her out of my sight," he snapped in disgust.

"Despite what you try to pretend, James Kirk," she smiled softly. "You are not a cruel man."

"Keep talking and I might change my mind," he muttered, as he stalked past. Cassia's last words before she was marched forward, made him pause for a second.

"You may think I have betrayed you, and you're right," she called, her eyes on his straight back, the muscles flickering with tension beneath the gold command shirt. "But what I did, I did for one I love and the only family I have left. What would you do, in my place, Kirk, for the ones you love? For your family?"

He didn't look back as he walked away, and Cassia mentally shrugged. She wasn't entirely sure why she felt the need to speak anyway.

* * *

The brig was a large, echoing chamber in the regulation white and chrome, a crewman sat at the desk monitoring the security feeds, although the cells were empty but for one.

Khan was sat on the bunk in his cell, but his head shot up when he heard their approach, his eyes widening imperceptibly at the sight of her. The door to the connecting passageway, added as an extra precaution by Commander Spock when he assisted in the design of the brigs onboard Starfleet vessels, opened and locked behind her, and she quickly stepped through the other, into the almost blindingly white expanse of Khan's, now their, cell, the door shutting and locking behind her with a sibilant _hiss_.

Silence fell, tense and thick, as Cassia defiantly met the angry eyes of the man so calmly sitting opposite her. Kirk's blind rage had nothing on him. Besides, two could play this game.

It was obvious Khan too had been permitted to clean up, before being imprisoned, the dirt and sweat gone from his flawless skin, his hair, where it had been lank and wet from the fight, was once more neat and set back from his face. The sight of it always made her palms itch.

"Why did you come after me?" he finally broke the silence, his voice rumbling over the space between them. "I told you to stay on Earth-"

"As if I ever do as I'm told," Cassia rolled her eyes. "After three years of believing that I am one person, and discovering that I am in fact another, finding you again and being sent away, did you really believe I'd just obey your orders like some meek little servant? Do you even know the woman you claim to love?"

"Cassia," he growled warningly, as she turned away, folding her arms as she stared out the observation wall.

She sensed him stand and stalk to her side, his lips brushing her temple, as she shuddered, closing her eyes at the feel of him so close to her.

"Cassia, you have never been and never will be my servant. I cared only for your safety," he whispered the words against her ear, as his arms slipped around her waist.

"I needed you, Khan," she breathed. "We may be better than ordinary humans, but even we fall prey to our emotions, or have you forgotten that drive?"

"Since the day I thought you dead, my only thought was to protect the others," he told her, quietly and fiercely, his arms tightening around her waist. "Since the moment I saw you again, standing and glaring at me, as you used to do whenever I angered you, amid all the destruction, my only thought has been to protect…and love you again, as I failed to do so before."

Cassia was not a weak woman. Any propensity she might have had for weakness had quite literally been erased from her DNA, and the life she had lived since the day she awoke from the DNA augmentation procedure would have destroyed it anyway, or destroyed her if she could not transcend it. But the silken voice in her ear, the feel of his arms holding her around her waist so tightly, his arms locked in an unbreakable loop around her hips, she felt safe and protected. She always had.

"Were it not for the fact that the sight of you, naked, in my arms is one for my eyes alone, I would have no hesitation in showing you how much I need you, Cassia," he whispered in her ear, as she smiled coyly. That was more like the Khan she remembered.

His lips skimmed the curve of her neck desirously, as she felt ready to burst out of her own skin. But they were being monitored, and just as she was Khan's, so he was hers and no one was allowed to see him the way she did.

She arched her neck back, bringing their lips together, tenderly at first before it inevitably escalated, her hand sliding into his hair and grasping hungrily, just as his hands tightened on her waist enough to leave bruises. She tore away with a teasing smile. "Down, boy," she muttered breathlessly, before putting some much needed distance between them and taking a seat on the bunk. "What did you tell Kirk? And what exactly is in those torpedoes?"

Khan followed her to the bunk, sitting down beside her, their hands intertwined but nothing else. "Kirk, despite his attempts to prove otherwise, is a good man. He would not execute one who had done him wrong without answers, so I gave him just enough for him to find out on his own. The truth about Admiral Marcus, and why I did what I did," he explained, as she listened. "You will know soon enough, I promise you that. As for what are inside those torpedoes Marcus supplied Kirk, I think you know very well, Cassia."

"Then…they're safe? Alive?" she breathed, and he nodded. Joy bloomed deep inside of her, and she smiled slightly before carefully erasing all emotion from her face. "What do you plan to do now?"

"Marcus. If I am right in my reading of Kirk, he will take me to him," Khan murmured, barely audible to anyone but Cassia. She nodded imperceptibly.

"Kirk is…a good man," she began, feeling her lover's gaze on her as she spoke. "Better than I anticipated. There is little he would not do for those he loves. He is not unlike us. The humans have changed."

"Not all of them," Khan growled lowly. "And Kirk's kind are too few for us to be safe, Cassia."

She sighed, leaning back against the wall of the cell, closing her eyes. She knew the future implied in Khan's words, and despite all that had happened, all that she remembered and a part of her desired fiercely, she wasn't sure she wanted it, anymore. She just wanted her family.

But would they have to fight for the rest of their considerably lengthened lives to get it? Even if they returned to Earth and conquered it once more, that would not mean safety, and the humans were no longer alone in the galaxy. The Vulcans might be too few to provide assistance, but there were other races out there now. It would mean war without end, and the thought didn't appeal to her any more. A warrior needed a cause to fight, and during their reign they'd had one, to maintain order and peace on Earth, and Khan had done that for all the humans branded him a tyrant after they were betrayed and exiled. Now the humans had made peace for themselves.

They were no longer the frightened children Cassia remembered. Their superiority to them rested now, only in their physical and intellectual skills.

She felt fingertips run along her hand, over the knuckles, gentle and almost ghostly, as she felt his lips against her hair. "Cassia, I need you with me in this. I have only just found you again and I do not wish to lose you," he whispered against her hair, as she let herself slump into him, his arms coming around her, just for a moment.

"You'll always have me, my love. Always," she breathed, leaning into him and pressing a kiss against his throat, over where his pulse thundered against her lips.

Her words shivered in the air between them like the vow it was, but only Cassia knew its full significance. She closed her eyes and sighed.

They remained in silence after that, comforting and close, although she left his embrace to feel just a little more focused. She never could think straight once enveloped in his arms.

* * *

The sound of footsteps had her turning where she sat, as both Kirk and Spock came running up.

Kirk wasted no time with pleasantries. "Why is there a man in that torpedo?" he asked, his eyes intent on the pair inside.

Cassia inhaled sharply. So it really was true. Her family were alive.

"There are men and women in all those torpedoes, Captain," Khan replied. "I put them there."

She frowned, turning back to her lover.

She saw Kirk glance at Spock before he asked, "Who the hell are you? Both of you, for that matter, considering that little display you gave on Qo'noS?"

Cassia stood, facing the two officers coolly, as her lover spoke again.

"A remnant of a time long past," Khan explained, his voice almost sad, a sadness Cassia felt in her heart, for all that had been lost. "Genetically engineered to be superior, so as to lead others to peace in a world at war."

"We were created from humans, taken as test subjects by scientists working for the European Alliance," Cassia added. "Our memories were erased by the augmentation, and our only purpose was to do what the humans could not. We succeeded."

"But we were condemned as criminals, forced into exile," Khan continued. Cassia glanced at their audience, saw the disbelief in their eyes but they were unable to stop listening, to break free of her lover's hypnotic voice. "For centuries, we slept, hoping that when we awoke, things would be different," he glanced at Spock, a tinge of venom entering his voice as he stared balefully at the Vulcan. "But after the destruction of Vulcan, your Starfleet began to aggressively search distant quadrants of space, my ship was found adrift, we alone were revived."

"I looked up John Harrison," Kirk put in, drawing their attention. "And Cassandra Mason. A year ago, he didn't exist," he nodded at Khan, "And three years ago, she didn't exist. All your test scores, your Academy records, everything, was a very good fake."

Cassia snorted softly.

"John Harrison was a fiction created the moment I was awoken by your Admiral Marcus to help him advance his cause," Khan stood, icy anger radiating from him as he marched up to the glass, eying Kirk coldly. "A smokescreen to conceal my true identity. My name is Khan."

"And what about you?" Kirk asked, looking at Cassia as she stepped forward, her arms folded defiantly. "Were you with him all this time?"

"No," she breathed. "I was awoken along with Khan when Marcus found our ship. I was taken away while still weakened from the revival process, and my memories and DNA suppressed, before I was inserted into human society as Cassandra Mason. My true name is Cassia."

"Why?" Kirk asked, frowning. "Why did he do that? Why, for that matter, would a Starfleet Admiral, ask a 300 year-old frozen man, for help?"

"Because I…we are better," Khan replied.

"At what?" Kirk asked with a derisive smirk.

"Everything," was her lover's cold, cool reply and she could see Kirk's slow-burning anger beginning to build at Khan's arrogance. She inwardly shook her head.

"It is in our DNA, Kirk," she explained softly. "The very essence of our being. The technology of 300 years is nothing to us, your mathematics and theorems barely a challenge to us. Our minds were designed to possess the analytical capability of the most powerful computers with all the creativity of the human soul. There is nothing we cannot do."

Kirk snorted. "And people say I have an ego," he muttered.

"Alexander Marcus needed to respond to a uncivilised threat in a civilised time," Khan suddenly continued, turning away as his voice became more savage, heated with some distasteful memory as Cassia watched him. "For that he needed a warrior's mind, _**my **_mind, to design weapons and warships."

"You are suggesting the Admiral violated every regulation he vowed to uphold, simply because he wanted to exploit your intellect?" Spock asked, clearly disdainfully disbelieving of the notion and their story. Cassia felt the burn of anger deep within her, but held it back.

"He wanted to exploit my savagery!" Khan snarled at him. "Intellect alone is useless in a fight, Mr Spock, you…you can't even break a rule, how could you be expected to break _**bone**_?" he turned back to Kirk again. "Marcus used me to design weapons to help him realise his vision of a militarised Starfleet. He sent you to use those weapons, to fire _**my **_torpedoes, on an unsuspecting planet. And then he purposefully crippled your ship in enemy space, leading to one inevitable outcome. The Klingons would come searching for whomever was responsible and you would have no chance of escape. Marcus would have the war he talked about, the war he always wanted."

Khan's revelations made the anger inside of Cassia burn all the brighter and fiercer as he glanced at her, and she clenched her fists. What hell did her lover undergo at Marcus' hands? She wanted to tear the bastard limb from limb.

Kirk was still disbelieving. "No," he breathed. "No. I watched you open fire on a room of unarmed Starfleet officers. You killed them in cold blood!"

Khan's features turned into a pained snarl as he closed his eyes and turned away with a twist of his head, Cassia watching their interrogators with a glare.

"Marcus took my crew from me!" he growled.

"You are a murderer!" Kirk shouted but Khan ignored him, burning a hole through the back wall of their cell with his gaze as he retorted heatedly.

"He used my friends to control me!" he snarled, before he looked at Cassia, and she met his gaze, with the same pain and grief inside of her, as she sensed Spock and Kirk's gaze on them both. "Our cryotubes were primed to deactivate together should one of us awaken. He took her from me, suppressed her memories and hid her away to use her as a last resort bargaining tool. He would have set her to hunt me, knowing full well I could not harm her, even as he let me believe her dead! It was only the others that kept me from retaliating, I tried to smuggle them to safety by concealing them in the very weapons I had designed. But I was discovered, I had no choice but to escape alone. And when I did, I had every reason to suspect that Marcus had killed every single one of the people I hold most dear! So I responded in kind."

Cassia's eyes traced the tear as it fell from Khan's eye, and she ached to go to him. In truth, she had been luckier than him. She had not believed the man she loved and her family dead. She had not known.

"Do you know what it is to have your life stripped from you, Kirk?" she breathed, glancing at the human with pain in her eyes as disjointed memories flashed across her mind. "To have everything that you are and were, and could be, taken from you and there is nothing you can do to stop it? To be unmade? The agony of loss, felt every moment of every day and you cannot even remember why."

She felt Khan's hands reach for her, tracing her wrists, and she stepped into his embrace, uncaring now of Kirk or Spock, as Khan lightly held her arms, his forehead against her own as she closed her eyes. "My crew is my family, Kirk," Khan breathed softly, unknowingly echoing Cassia's own words to Kirk only a few hours before. "Is there anything you would not do, for your family?"

Cassia's breath shuddered from her lips, as she felt a reciprocal tear slip down her cheek, as Khan pressed his face to hers, his lips lightly resting on their skin. She glimpsed the Vulcan slightly stiffen and his cheek blushed a tinge of green. They were not kissing, but their contact would be seen by a Vulcan as something as intimate as a kiss. Slowly an idea took shape, and she stepped away from Khan, his hand lingering on hers.

"If you do not believe us, Captain, I have a proposition," she murmured, as Kirk looked to her with a nod to continue. "It is known that one cannot lie in a mind meld. If you wish to verify the truth of our story, perhaps you would prefer it from the one you trust most onboard this ship. Perhaps Commander Spock will consent to meld with me."

* * *

She felt Khan spin around at her proposition, as both of their interrogators stared at her. Spock stirred first.

"You are aware that I would have full control of the bond? You cannot hope to either harm or take information from my mind, Cassia," he told her gravely, as Kirk stared at him.

"You're not actually considering this?!" he snapped, but Spock inclined his head.

"It is a logical suggestion, Captain, and one freely made," he replied.

"That's what worries me," Kirk muttered under his breath but shrugging. "On your own head be it."

"Cassia," Khan murmured her name behind her, as several security officers amassed at Kirk's command, Spock watching her with that cool, unconcerned façade she suspected little broke through.

"I know what I am doing, Khan," she whispered with a smile, as she was escorted out and cuffed, before being brought before Spock, just outside the cell. The Vulcan took a step towards her, and she was achingly aware of Khan's dagger like glare as he watched them, Kirk watching just as intently.

"You are resolved on this?" Spock asked one last time, as he raised his hand. She nodded and he closed his eyes, as his fingers pressed into her face, one at her temple, the other on her cheek and jaw.

She gasped as her mind was overloaded with a deluge of memories, Spock stiffening as his eyes snapped shut.

* * *

_All she felt was cold. _

_In the very cells of her bones, she felt it, her body bristling with suppressed energy as she became slowly aware, her mind awakening from its long sleep._

_How long had they slept? A year, ten years, a century? Or more?_

_Where was Khan?_

_As hands suddenly gripped her, she opened her eyes and saw him, his hair damp from the ice, his own body as weak as her own from the cryogenic stasis, being similarly manhandled by more men in black and blue uniforms._

_Enemy._

_Her mind identified them as such, but she had no strength to fight. She wrestled to reach Khan, and as he became aware, he fought to reach her too._

"_Khan!" she cried out, just as a cold, unfamiliar voice speaking with an American accent, Midwest from the sound of it though her memory of accents was still dim, and her head snapped around to see a tall, muscular but aging man, in the same uniform, watching her with cold, disinterested eyes. "Sedate her. It's the male we want."_

"_Cassia!" her head snapped around at Khan's shout, desperate and pained, as she felt the sharp pain of a hypospray entering her neck. Her voice echoed around the chamber their tubes were stored in, as her vision went dark and her limbs soft, and she knew nothing more…_

* * *

_They had no choice. Their numbers were decimated and the humans too numerous even for their advanced abilities to subdue._

_Their reign was over._

_London lay in ruins around them, as they stood together on the roof of what was once the Houses of Parliament, looking down at the carnage below, gunfire and screams filling the air as the city burned._

_Europe was lost. Their territories in Asia and Africa were gone, and their stronghold in America was barely hanging on. They would go there next._

_She looked to him, his dark hair ruffled by the wind, his features set with rage and impotency, feelings they had never experienced before, as the people they had fought for and protected, at their own cost, turned against them._

_It was not unexpected, after what had happened…_

* * *

_They had found it in Area 51, a prototype sleeper ship that could be used to escape. Barely a handful of their original number had survived, and the few who had gathered there now._

_Cassia felt vengefully satisfied that Gabriel, the traitor and root of all their troubles, was not there to share in their escape. He had died at Khan's hand._

_The cryotubes sat waiting for them, open and shining in the dim light of the chamber where they would rest. Only she and Khan would stay awake, and only long enough to make sure they escaped Earth's gravity._

_They could only hope that when they awoke, things would be different._

_As the others slid inside their cryotubes, and the process began, she sighed and looked out of the windows one last time, to see the dry, arid deserts of Nevada recede, the roar of the ship's engines almost deafening to even her advanced hearing. _

_She turned and left, walking with smooth, unhurried strides to the bridge, the hallways dark but for emergency lighting. __She found him there, at the controls, and she wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing a kiss to his neck._

_Earth receded behind them, and she felt a momentary pang as her home disappeared, before Khan stood from his seat, the autopilot engaged and programmed to take them out of the solar system._

"_It is time," he whispered, and she nodded reluctantly. Hand in hand, they walked back to join their family, passing the peacefully blank faces of Jason, Arya, Cal and so many of the others._

_72. 72 Augments were all that remained. Noonien Singh's legacy to the galaxy, the legacy of the Eugenics Wars, the rest destroyed by their own pride and arrogance._

_Soon to be 74. Their cryotubes were side by side, as they stopped, eying the open pods with dislike._

"_When we awake, it will be different, my love," Khan whispered, as the unnatural roar of the engines faded as they journeyed into space. His lips brushed her hand in his, and she turned to kiss him, one last time. _

"_I love you," she murmured against his mouth, before breaking away and forcing herself into the claustrophobic tube. The last thing she saw before her vision went dark were the tender, icy blue eyes of her lover, her Khan, as he smiled gently down on her…_

* * *

Spock's fingers tightened on her face, as Cassia gasped, her hand shooting up to clasp his forearm, the bone creaking under the strain of her grip. In his cell, Khan started forward, his eyes burning.

* * *

_Smoke and gunfire filled the air, the earth groaning as it exploded and rent around them, as they rushed towards enemy lines, ducking grenades and mortar attacks, sliding under tanks and machine gun turrets, leaving them smoking in their wake._

_This was the final push, the final battle. _

_She fixed on a soldier, bloodied and struggling to re-load his rifle, glancing up at her in terror as she rushed towards him, using the flat of her hand to bat the muzzle down, flicking it into her arms._

_She slammed the butt of the rifle into the soldier's face, driving him into the mud, as she stepped over him. A few moments later, the ground behind her exploded into muddy hell, taking the solder with it, as she walked away, face cold and uncaring of the death she caused._

_Her bullets tore and ripped into weak flesh, and not even courage among the few to fight back was enough to stop them. They were not made to be reliant on courage or fear to win the day. They were born to kill._

_And when the smoke cleared, and she wiped the blood from her face, she met the eyes of Khan across the battlefield, and they nodded as one. _

_This was just the beginning…_

* * *

_The silk against her skin exhilarated her._

_The war was over, the world trying to recover, as the inevitable infighting began among the squabbling humans. This was just the start of it all, a supposed celebratory dinner at the United Nations in Geneva. All the world's leaders who had fought against the Asian Faction were there, as well as those who had surrendered willingly or sided against their compatriots._

_Cassia cared little. It would happen tonight._

_They had no choice. Rumours were already circling as to what would happen to the Augments now, and none of them pleasant. They were slaves and pawns, to these humans, Cassia a desirable object, a killing machine soon to be turned to other uses, dressed up in scarlet silk._

_Even Singh was there, in the crowd, proudly showing off his creations to the world._

_Ignoring the cloying attentions of the Intelligence chief beside her, insistent and dripping innuendo that made her skin crawl, Cassia looked out, to her lover across the room, dark and handsome, ignorant of all the lustful gazes in his direction, hoping to catch his eye._

_They both nodded._

_Singh and his friends should have known, that the troublesome things about slaves…they always fought back eventually. Spartacus, the French, the American colonists…and now them. The only way they would ever be free would be to take power for themselves, and fulfil their final destiny._

_Singh had created them to bring peace and order, and so they would do._

_Khan nodded, and when she felt the Intelligence Chief's hand wander down her back, she dropped her champagne glass and snapped his wrist._

_That was the signal, as every Augment in the room turned on their human masters, screams, angry shouts and pleading filled the air. Cassia felt nothing as she killed human after human, taking savage delight in the murder of the women who had looked at __**her **__Khan so salaciously, and the men who looked at her and saw nothing but a trophy for their beds._

_Finally, the room was silent, the marble floor stained with red, red as her gown, as she stepped over their cooling corpses to the two figures left behind, as the others went to subdue the others in the complex._

_Khan and Singh. Father and son._

_The Indian scientist was snivelling and crying, his eyes wide and fearful. "B-but I created you! Both of you!" he protested as his eyes snapped between Cassia and Khan. _

"_Thank you for that," Khan drawled as Cassia smiled. Scorn flashed in her eyes. "Did you really think we would simply become mindless drones, slaves to your every whim?"_

"_But the war is over!" Singh shouted. _

"_And we will never be free as long as you and your kind believe they can rule __**our **__kind," Cassia replied coldly. "We belong to no one."_

"_Goodbye, Doctor Noonien Singh," Khan smiled coldly, as his hands crept around his creator's neck. With a swift __**snap**_**, **Singh collapsed to the floor.

_Khan held out his hand to her, and she took it eagerly, as he led her away, and the sound of explosions filled the air. "First here," Khan breathed, "then the world. Soon, we will be free."_

_Cassia smiled and wiped her bloodstained hand on her skirts as they walked towards the command centre…_

* * *

_Their new empire was safe and secure. After the fall of the human governments, the people had been quickly subdued, and peace now reigned._

_Until now._

_It had begun in Africa, when two of their kind began fighting over territory, destabilising their hold over their people, and riots and massacres ensued. _

_Cassia had believed Khan's hold over their territories too pervasive and strong to be challenged by the difficulties in the South and East of the Earth, but it seemed rebellion had seeped its way even into the heart of their empire._

_It had only been a single man, who had tried to kill them both in an assassination attempt, but a spark had been lit. Now it had to be contained._

_Khan was not a cruel ruler. He saw the humans under his dominion as his to protect and keep, and yes they were not given many freedoms they possessed before the wars, but that was half the reason most of them were even alive. He was a good ruler, but his control was absolute, and if any tried to subvert it, then no God could help them against his vengeance._

_The attempt angered her, but she was wary of too severe a retribution. Earth's most peaceful civilisations internally were those that allowed a modicum of free expression to their citizens, and punishments more lenient that deserved. _

_Perhaps they might better defuse the rebellion if they spared the man's life than if they executed him._

_All this she had told him, but he refused to listen. Rage, hurt at the betrayal, pride and arrogance dictated his actions, and the fact that they had targeted her. Not just him, but Cassia also._

_He was deaf to her advice this time._

_The assassin was publicly hanged, they had watched together as his body swung from the scaffold. That was where it began, as riots broke out and screams and cries for justice began to ring around Parliament Square._

_That was the beginning of the end…_

* * *

Outside the theatre of Cassia's mind, she gasped and stiffened, almost falling to her knees, as Spock's face contorted in pain, Kirk rushing to his friend's side, trying to prise his hands off of Cassia's face, while the security guards rushed to help. Khan's fists clenched but he was helpless in his cell, his gaze fixed on Cassia as she trembled in Spock's meld.

* * *

_A deep tear in her mind ripped open, raining pain over her and she was lost, unable to find her way back._

_Hands were forcing her along, tight and restricting, and she knew she'd have bruises in the morning. The hands crushed in her own struggled to keep up with her, as she held on to them tightly._

_Her father and brother were gone, now it was her time to protect them. Her vulnerable mother and her little, innocent sister. Kayla._

_This was all her fault. If she hadn't been so damned determined to find out exactly what Singh and the others were up to, so driven by her journalistic instincts…_

_Mother was right. She should have just become an academic, used her history degree for it was made for. Then she would never have dragged them into this._

_Ever since her father and brother were conscripted into this blasted war, she had felt increasingly determined to do something, contribute somehow. She'd always been a curious child, and her insatiable curiosity had been the undoing of her often enough._

_Suddenly, hands wrenched her away from her little sister and mother, the latter's soft brown eyes wide with fear and pain. "Marla!" she shouted, reaching for her, but they were dragged away._

_Even as she screamed for them, hearing her little Kayla's voice shouting her name long after she had been dragged away, she knew she would never see them again._

_She had been caught trying to break into Singh's research labs in London, and though she had escaped immediate capture, the government's security services had caught up with them before they'd escaped the country._

_Now they had been taken here. Camp 21._

_A prison camp right in the heart of the Highlands, exposed to the harshest of the climate. Rumours were rife, fact dim and uncertain, but one thing was known. No one who came here, ever came back again._

_And she'd condemned her family to this. No doubt, her father and brother would be consigned here too, or ordered on a suicide mission. Or maybe they would not tell them the truth, just send them a message that Georgina, Marla and Kayla McGivers had died of the flu epidemics sweeping the country._

_The days of democracy were a distant dream. Marla barely remembered them._

_She was forced onto her knees and chained at the wrists, the chains loose up to a point. Enraged, she waited for whatever came next._

_A familiar, hated, face soon entered and she lunged at him, almost dislocating her arms at the wrench. "YOU!"_

_Doctor Noonien Singh chuckled amusedly at the sight of her, dishevelled and bleeding from the guards' maltreatment, burning with anger. "You have been a nuisance, Miss McGivers. But at least you could finally accept my invitation," he told her silkily, as she glared at him. He eyed her admiringly. "You are a very lucky woman."_

"_Where are my mother and sister?" she demanded._

_Singh sighed, as he began to pace around her, hands behind his back. "You know, despite what people think, Hitler had a point about humanity's superiority," he began. "But he was too limited, too narrow. He believed only certain characteristics enabled such superiority, and all that silliness with Jews…wasted," _

_Marla felt his hands on her hair and flinched away, glaring at him heatedly. "You're insane!" she snapped. "I know exactly what you've been doing, what you've been experimenting with!"_

"_Ahh yes," Singh sighed. "My greatest triumph and my greatest failure. Alas, the use of embryos in the augmentation process has proven too inefficient. The growth accelerant develops the body but not the mind, leaving them as children. And children cannot fight."_

"_I saw what you did to them!" she breathed in disgust. "Destroying them like sick cattle. The UN will never sanction this!"_

"_On the contrary my dear, they already have," he told her laughingly, as he swung to face her. "However, now it is time to utilise Plan B. Embryos are too time-consuming, so we have decided to try another route. Human test subjects."_

"_Where are my mother and sister?" she growled again. Singh walked to a table, opening a case and she felt fear rush through her as she saw the bottle and the syringe._

"_You have a great destiny ahead of you, Marla," he told her as he drew a little of the liquid from the bottle. "A glorious future, but first you must relinquish your old one. Your tenacity, intelligence, cunning and courage, even now, have made you worthy. But unfortunately, accepted test subjects cannot any ties to their former existences remaining. Poor little Kayla and Mrs McGivers will soon be the latest victims of the swine flu pandemic, I am afraid to say."_

"_NO!" she screamed, lunged forward again. "You insane, sick bastard!-"_

_He turned and smiled as he advanced on her with the syringe. He produced a slim, black device from his pocket, and with a flick of one of the buttons on its surface, the chains tightened until she couldn't move, and she could do nothing as Singh came towards her with that sick, anticipatory grin._

"_I will enjoy working on you, Marla McGivers," he told her. "But such a name is unworthy of the goddess you will become."_

_She cried out at the sting of the needle in her carotid artery, and no matter how she tried to fight, the sedative was too powerful, as she slumped to the ground, barely away of Singh's musing as she slipped into unconsciousness, the last words she heard as Marla McGivers his own._

"_I think you shall be called…Cassia…"_

* * *

Cassia gasped and tore away from Spock's hand, panting and trembling. Spock stumbled back from her as she collapsed, barely aware of rhythmic blows against the glass observation wall as Khan demanded her.

Pain, greater even than the agony she had felt when Khan used his blood to return her memories, washed through her and she closed her eyes.

She moaned Khan's name, and dimly heard Kirk's orders to put her back in the cell. She flinched away from the cold white lights, as the weak arms of the security guards suddenly gave way to those of the strong, warm arms of her beloved.

She moaned and curled herself into him, and he held her tightly. She was vaguely aware of Spock's voice, exhausted and shaking himself, as he said to Kirk, "They speak the truth, Captain."

Cassia whimpered, eyes shut tight against the pain and the images, as Khan cradled her close, whispering her name over and over.

"Cassia…Cassia…"

_Marla…Cassia…Cassandra…_

She shut her eyes and forced it all away, as she opened her eyes to those of her lover, deep blue and filled with worry.

"Khan," she sighed, pulling him close, as the pain peaked and she waited for it to ease.

Gradually it did, and with it the sense of displacement, of confusion and loss, as her breathing slowed, and she met Khan's gaze once more, conscious of the others watching them too.

Questions glowed in his eyes, and she didn't know how to answer them, coupled with a fury and possessiveness that she ached to soothe, even as her mind still whimpered and fought to stabilise itself.

She opened her mouth to speak-

"Proximity alert, Sir!" Sulu's voice came over the comm, calm and unruffled. "There's a ship at warp heading right for us!"

"Klingons?" Kirk asked.

"At warp?" Khan remarked, never taking his eyes from Cassia's, until the last moment, still cradling her to him. "No, Kirk. We both know who it is!"

* * *

_To be continued..._


	7. Chapter 7

Down The Rabbit Hole

Warnings: Violence and bad language.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

_**A/N: Apologies for the longer delays with chapters, but the pace I was writing them at before just wasn't sustainable, not unless I want to turn into a brain-dead zombie by the end of this story, which is now only three chapters away from completion. Enjoy!**_

* * *

They were moved to sickbay while surrounded by guards, Cassia barely aware of all that was happening, her mind consumed by the memories unlocked by Commander Spock's mind meld.

The ones of her life as an Augment were familiar, known if disjointed and chaotic; thanks to Marcus and his pet scientists screwing around with her head, but the other…the other was not.

Was it possible Spock had somehow broken through whatever barrier Doctor Singh had erected in her head, when she became an Augment? She had always believed she had chosen her life, been a knowing participant, but remembering the fear and the anger as Singh's words echoed in her head…

She wanted to be sick.

She closed her eyes, shoving away the urge, barely aware of Khan's strong hands around her wrists as she was pushed back into a sitting position atop a medical bed in the sickbay. Her eyes were unfocussed and unseeing as she was vaguely aware of voices conversing lowly, near her, then the feel of Khan's weight on the bed beside her.

That little girl…the one with her eyes. So frightened, so helpless. Kayla…

"Cassia?" a familiar voice asked, as she felt two warm hands cup her face, as she forced her eyes to focus, on a pair of familiar icy blue eyes, overflowing with fury, possessiveness and concern for her. "My love?"

She exhaled shakily, as he pulled her close, one hand around her waist, the other still resting on her cheek. "What happened?" he asked, gently, belying the darkness she could see in his eyes. _Khan…_ "Tell me," he breathed insistently.

"I saw…" she trailed off, wincing as her head pounded. "When the Vulcan joined with me, I think…I think he managed to break through whatever barrier Singh used to block my memories. The memories of my human life…"

"Cassia…" he breathed, almost warningly, as her eyes snapped up to his, defiantly.

"My name was Marla. I was being dragged…with my mother and my sister. I'd done something, something bad. Singh was there, he spoke to me, gave me a new name," she continued determinedly, but the details were already fading slightly. But one detail remained clear. "I was forced into this, Khan. I did not choose this."

"I am sorry you had to remember such things, Cassia," he told her, still in that same soft, eerily calm voice she knew meant he was furious with her. "But they mean nothing now. That life is long dead, and you know who you are."

"Then who am I?" she challenged him firmly, as he stiffened beside her.

"You're my Cassia," he replied, just as firmly, just as certain, and it helped ground her, gave her an anchor to latch onto in her once more crazy world. She felt like Alice in Wonderland, falling down the rabbit hole.

"You're angry with me," she stated coolly, as his eyes flicked up to hers, intent and dark as she took a breath. "And not just because I endangered myself. What is it? What have I done to anger you?"

Khan took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Cassia glanced around at their audience, but their security detail was not looking at them, and the medical staff were busy, Doctor McCoy sitting at a desk, bent intently over something, only glancing up at a holoscreen every now and again. When Khan spoke again, his voice was low and dark, shaking slightly as he fought for control.

"I have loved you for over three hundred years, Cassia," he told her, earnestly. "We have known everything about each other, exclusively, for centuries, until today…"

"It was a means to an end, Khan," she breathed, as his hand tightened into a fist on his lap. "It was by no means a pleasant experience. My head feels like it's ready to implode. It means nothing, _**he **_means nothing to me."

Slightly astounded at his jealousy, she shuffled closer on the bed, reaching for his fist and easing it open, as she raised it to her lips, drawing his gaze to hers. "He means nothing, he is nothing. You, out of all the people in this universe, know me better than anyone, even Spock. He saw only what he needed to, he looked no further and I allowed him no more. He will never see me the way you and you alone have, my love."

His gaze, deep and predatory, thrilled her as he nodded shortly, somewhat mollified. He pulled her closer, leaning in until their breath mingled, and she looked up at him, her head tilted back, her eyes half-closed with anticipation and damn anyone watching. His familiar wicked smirk reappeared, as he growled against her mouth. "You are mine."

His kiss was possessive and fierce, prizing her lips open and dominantly surging into her mouth, as she moaned quietly, one hand in his hair pulling him closer. He tilted his head over hers, deepening the angle of the kiss, as she clung ever closer, her body crushed to his.

"Will you two knock it off?" the Doctor's voice called sarcastically. "For God's sake find some self-control or I'll damn well sedate the both of you!"

Cassia smirked to herself as they broke apart slowly, mirroring the wicked grin of her lover, as they resettled on the bed, side by side. For one moment, she'd believed Khan would simply ignore McCoy's threat and make love to her then and there, but now was hardly the time or the place. No, later…

* * *

Suddenly a hated, all-too familiar voice came over the comms, as everyone stopped what they were doing to listen, as Khan and Cassia sat by, nonchalant and at ease, even as she felt the hatred and the rage boiling inside of her.

"_Captain Kirk."_

"_Admiral Marcus," _Kirk's voice came over the comm, deceptively calm and unruffled despite being faced with a ship five times its size. Khan had briefly explained the presence of the Vengeance as they walked down to sickbay, although she had been a little distracted at the time. She idly wondered how dangerous this new assailant was. If Khan had anything to do with her design, then it was likely to be lethal. _"I wasn't expecting you. A hell of a ship you got there."_

"Kirk's stalling," Khan muttered. "It'll be his only chance against the Vengeance."

Cassia just nodded, listening as intently as the others in the sickbay.

"_And I wasn't expecting word that you'd taken Harrison into custody in violation of your orders."_

"_Well, we…uh…we had to improvise when our warp core unexpectedly malfunctioned," _came Kirk's pointed reply, making Cassia smirk. _"But you knew that, didn't you, sir?"_

"_I don't take your meaning?"_

"_Well, that's why you're here, isn't it? To assist with our repairs? Why else would the head of Starfleet personally come to the edge of the Neutral Zone?"_

She had to hand it to the human, he was good. Kirk's voice was utterly cool and collected, playing a verbal chess game with the corrupt Starfleet Admiral. She wondered why Marcus hadn't mentioned her yet, since he had to believe she had been captured along with Khan.

"_Is there something I can help you find, Sir?" _Kirk asked coldly, and Khan chuckled.

"They're looking for us," he breathed. "And the torpedoes."

"Undoubtedly," she replied quietly. "Depends whether Kirk will give us up to protect his crew, or make a run for it first."

"Not at first," Khan shook his head. "He'll try to return us to Starfleet for trial first, and only surrender us if Marcus disables the ship. Either way, when he does will be our chance."

She nodded, inwardly shoving aside any reservations or lingering moral niggling. Marcus deserved to die. In that at least, she was not conflicted.

"_Where is your prisoner, Kirk?"_

"_Don't you mean prisoners?" _Kirk replied, and Cassia smirked. _"We have recovered Commander Mason, who is not who she seems. As per Starfleet regulation, I'm planning on returning her and __**Khan **__to Earth to stand trial."_

"_Well, shit!" _Marcus sighed. _"You talked to him. And he's got his hooks into Mason."_

"_I believe she is actually called Cassia. Kind of insistent on the name change," _Kirk replied, this time with a hint of sarcasm.

"_That was exactly what I was hoping to spare you from," _Marcus murmured, actually sounding contrite, as her hands curled into fists as the need to kill, to tear something apart at his voice, hated and evocative, as Khan's hand covered hers. He was unaffected, or at least, in better control than she was. _"I took a tactical risk and I woke that bastard up, and her with him, believing that his superior intelligence could help us protect ourselves from whatever came at us next. But I made a mistake, and now the blood of everybody he's killed is on my hands. I have no doubt Cassia was aiding him from an early stage too."_

"_Wouldn't it be kind of difficult? For Cassia I mean? You did suppress her memories and make her think she was someone else. From her account, she only began to remember who she really was when she and Khan clapped eyes on one another when he attacked the briefing," _Kirk retorted with a tinge of disgust in his tone. The sound of Marcus's sigh was almost torturous for her, as she ached to fight. The instinct was rising inside of her, more and more, as flashbacks rose at the sound of his voice. Khan's hand tightened around hers.

"_Son, I'm going to ask you nicely just this once. Give them both to me, so I can handle what I started."_

"_And what exactly would you like me to do with the rest of his crew? Fire them at the Klingons, end 72 lives, start a war in the process?"_

"_He put those people in those torpedoes. I just didn't want to burden you with what was inside them. You saw what this man can do, and what I'm guessing the female can do too, could you imagine what would happen if we woke up the rest of their crew!? What else did he tell you, that they were peacekeepers? They're playing you, son, don't you see that? Khan, Cassia, and their crew were condemned to death as war criminals, and now it is our duty to carry out that sentence before anyone else dies because of them. Now I'm going to ask you again! One last time, son, lower your shields, tell me where they are."_

Cassia held her breath, but Khan seemed unconcerned as she glanced at him. Cursing the human restlessness evoked by the mind meld, she sought deep for the inner strength she'd possessed from the day she awoke from the augmentation, finding it again with difficulty. She needn't have worried, Khan's reading of Kirk rang true.

"_They're in Engineering. But I'll have them moved to the transporter room right away."_

"_I'll take it from here."_

Silence fell, as the transmission ended, and the two Augments exchanged glances. A minute later, they felt the slight shudder as the ship limped into warp. Now all they could do was wait.

* * *

The pretty little blonde scientist that had since been revealed as Marcus's daughter walked in, joining McCoy at his workstation, as Cassia found herself re-examining the daughter of the man who tried to use her as a bargaining tool, who violated her memories and tried to bury everything she was, just to threaten the one she loved. She was clever, to disarm torpedoes designed by Khan, and to make it onboard the Enterprise in much the same way as Cassia herself had done. She searched her eyes for any sign of her father's coldness and calculation, when the doctor and the scientist came to stand in front of them, clearly about to examine them again. The blonde squirmed under Cassia's gaze, before her jaw firmed and she met her stare defiantly.

She had spirit, she gave her that, and instinct told her that Carol Marcus was not her father's daughter. She was an altogether more principled individual.

"Well, at least we're moving again," McCoy sighed in relief, holding up a tricorder and scanning Khan's vitals.

"If you think you're safe at warp," Khan deigned to reply coolly. "You're wrong."

Marcus stared at them, horrified realisation dawning as she turned tail and ran from the room. "What the hell was that?" McCoy snapped, putting away the tricorder. "We're at warp; nothing can catch up with us now."

"I designed that ship, I know its speed," Khan retorted. "He's already on your tail."

McCoy opened his mouth to reply, still disbelieving, when the ship juddered and lurched, equipment and personnel crashing to the floor and into walls. The sound of distant explosions rent the air, and casualty reports came flooding in. The red alert alarms blared, the lights dimming to emergency levels as chaos reigned.

* * *

Khan and Cassia had been thrown off their bed at first, but they managed to hold on now, as the explosions abruptly stopped, and uneasy peace descended for a moment.

"The Vengeance caught up with us," Khan breathed, as Cassia shoved aside her dishevelled hair, as the medical staff rushed to reorder the sickbay and prepare for incoming casualties. Their security detail recovered, eying them uneasily as the two Augments ignored them. "Something's stopping him."

"His daughter. She must be appealing to his fatherly nature," Cassia scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It could be that Marcus will destroy the Enterprise now rather than allow Kirk to have his say at a tribunal. Believed or not, he doesn't want Kirk talking."

"No," Khan smiled suddenly. "This is not the end, not yet."

"I wish I had your confidence," she sighed, as he ran his thumb over her knuckles soothingly, ignored for the most part by the crew of the Enterprise. "At least our family are with us, again."

Khan didn't reply to that, and she felt her nerves stretched taut as time dragged on and the Vengeance did not fire. How, why?

She turned to him questioningly, as he smiled. "I knew Kirk had to have an intermediary on Earth to investigate when I gave him the coordinates for the Space dock near Jupiter where the Vengeance was being built. I also calculated there would be a high chance this intermediary would infiltrate the Vengeance to better aid Kirk," he explained, as she stared at him and shook her head.

"And they always used to say I was the reckless one," she muttered. Khan was spared the trouble of replying when Kirk strode into the sickbay, his cornflower blue eyes filled with grim determination. Khan tensed slightly but did not show any other sign or acknowledgement as Kirk marched over to stand before them both. Cassia watched him intently.

"Tell me everything you know about that ship," he said brusquely.

"_Dreadnought_ class, two times the size, three times the speed. Advanced weaponry, modified for a minimal crew. Unlike most Federation vessels, it's built solely for combat," Khan stated robotically, watching Kirk closely.

"What are you planning, Kirk?" she asked quietly, as he glanced at her quickly, before stiffening and drawing himself up.

"I will do everything I can to make you answer for what you did. But right now, I need your help," Kirk admitted reluctantly.

"In exchange for what?" her lover asked.

"You said you'd do anything for your crew. I can guarantee their safety," he promised, as Cassia tensed slightly, watching the two men closely, frowning.

"Captain," Khan sighed. "You can't even guarantee the safety of your own crew."

"Bones, what are you doing with that tribble?" Kirk called over to the doctor abruptly.

"The tribble's dead. I'm injecting Khan's platelets into the deceased tissue of a necrotic host. Khan's cells regenerate like nothing I've ever seen and I want to know why," the doctor replied shortly, as Kirk turned back to Khan, seemingly decided on something. He stepped closer to Khan, meeting his gaze steadily.

"Are you coming with me or not?" he asked.

"If you can guarantee that my crew will be safe, from Marcus and from others, I will help you," Khan replied firmly, after a moment's thought.

"As will I," Cassia added, as Kirk glanced at her.

"Oh no, no way am I having the two of you together," he shook his head, but Cassia was already off the bed and striding for the doors.

"This is not up for negotiation, Kirk. Where Khan goes, I go," she said without looking back, sure that Kirk was too desperate to risk Khan's anger by shooting her.

"I wouldn't bother arguing, Captain," she heard Khan's lazy, amused drawl. "It's usually a waste of breath and energy. When they created her, they gave her an additional dose of stubbornness to add to her own. I have still to win an argument."

"I heard that!" she called back pointedly, as Kirk sighed and shook his head, torn between amusement and confusion.

"You two really are an old married couple," he breathed, as he led the two Augments out of the sickbay.

* * *

As they walked, surrounded by security, Kirk quickly contacted his man aboard the Vengeance once he explained his plans to them. Cassia was surprised to realise it was the former Chief Engineer, Montgomery Scott, his brusque Scottish accent growing thicker as he exhibited shock and dismay at Kirk's plan.

It was audacious and risky. Using thruster suits to traverse the distance between the two stranded ships would be difficult, particularly with the debris caused by the bombardment, and then they had to time their arrival with opening an access port to the cargo bay. Once inside, she and Khan wouldn't have a problem subduing the crew and then…Marcus.

This was their chance.

She remained as stony-faced as possible, giving nothing away. Their plan relied on Scott to deliver.

They quickly changed into the thruster suits outside the airlock access port, Cassia changing her tank top for a long-sleeved jersey before she slipped into the airtight, vacuum-proof suit. One of the security detail strapped the main thruster unit to her back, while she fitted the helmet, Kirk and Khan quickly and expertly fitting their own. She had minimal experience with thruster suits during her training at the Academy, but she thought it would be similar to the gliding suits they had sometimes used on tactical missions during the war, when they needed a silent, undetectable approach. Just with thrusters and a HUD to guide their way.

They dropped down into the airlock chute in silence, Khan's hand brushing hers briefly before they settled into position, and the airlock hatch shut with a pneumatic hiss above them.

Excitement and anticipation filled Cassia's veins, and she grinned. This was going to be fun.

"Scotty, how we doing over there?" Kirk asked into his comm, the helmets broadcasting to all three of them.

"_I wish I had better news, Sir. They've blocked my access to the ship's computer. They'll have full weapons in…three minutes. That means next time; I won't be able to stop them destroying the Enterprise. Stand by."_

"Time's against us then," Cassia breathed, prompting a look from Kirk. She smiled predatorily, as Khan chuckled to himself. "Sounds like fun."

Kirk shook his head as Spock's voice came over the comm next.

"_Captain, the ships are aligned."_

"Copy that," Kirk nodded. "Scotty!"

"_I'm in the hangar. Gimme a minute!"_ came the slightly out-of-breath reply. _"I'm running! Stand by! Whoa, whoa! Hang on there, Captain, this door is very wee…I mean, you know small. It's four square metres, tops! It's gonna be like jumping out of a moving car, off a bridge and into your shot glass!"_

"It's ok, I've done it before," Kirk replied soothingly, prompting both Augments to glance at him derisively. His reply was a little defensive. "Yeah, it was vertical. We jumped onto a…doesn't matter, Scotty!"

"Have you found the manual override?" Khan took over the conversation as Kirk squirmed uncomfortably, finally remembering his professionalism to pose the same question to the engineer.

"_Not yet, not yet!"_

"_Captain, before you launch, you should be aware there is a considerable debris field between the two ships-"_

"Spock, not now. Scotty, you good?" Kirk asked, cutting off his first officer.

"_It's not easy, just give me two seconds, you mad bastard!"_

Cassia couldn't resist a laugh at that one, and she could see Khan was a little amused. Scotty reminded her a little of Cal, they had the same brusque sense of sarcasm, complete disregard for rank when it came to insults and a love of said insults. "Interesting crewmen, you have there Kirk," she murmured, as she copied her lover when he sank into a crouch, ready for the final jump. Kirk followed.

"Interesting is one way of putting it," he breathed, and she winked at him. He glared at her, making her chuckle, before she forced herself to focus at Khan's disapproving glare.

"_Ok, I'm set to open the door!"_

"You ready?" Kirk asked, as the anticipation began to build.

"Are you?" Khan retorted confidently. She rolled her eyes.

"Boys, play nice," she murmured warningly, eying the metal doors intently, flexing her fists as her HUD lit up with flight data.

"Spock, pull the trigger," the human finally ordered into his comm, and there was moments' hesitation before Spock replied in the affirmative.

"_Launching activation sequence on 3...2...1!"_

The doors opened and the vacuum flung them out into vastness of open space.

* * *

Cassia knew more than a few cadets suffered vertigo and space sickness while using a thruster suit in open space, and she could understand why. There was little to lock onto visually, no landmarks or points to aim for, just dizzying, eternal darkness interspersed with distant stars.

Her HUD guided her true, as she glided under a floating bulkhead, vaguely aware of Kirk curving wildly off-course to avoid more debris. She plied her thrusters, gradually adding speed when needed to evade the debris.

"_Khan, Cassia use evasive action!" _Spock's voice echoed in their ears. _"There is debris directly ahead!"_

"_I see it!" _She heard Khan's voice over the comm, as she muttered her own reply.

"Copy that." She fired the thrusters, dipping under and over, spinning in a complicated manoeuvre as she evaded. She saw Khan hit it, spinning out of control. "Khan!"

She missed the chance to duck an dangling bulkhead door, and her comms were momentarily knocked out as she spun to compensate. She saw Khan as he continued to spin out of control, and flexed her fists, operating the thrusters to reach him, ignoring Kirk and Spock in her ear.

She grabbed hold of him, righting him and pulling him out of his uncontrolled spin, as he nodded to her, and retook control. Together, they flew on, keeping tight formation, just in time to see Kirk and hear him over the comm. The Vengeance loomed ever closer, a behemoth floating in space.

"_Spock, my display is down, I'm flying blind!"_

"_Captain, without your display compass, hitting your target destination will be mathematically impossible!" _The Vulcan almost sounded panicked.

"_Spock when I get back, we really need to talk about your bedside manner!"_

"_Our displays are still functioning!" _Khan said over the comm, as they flew to intercept the human, readjusting their course. _"I see you Kirk. You're two hundred metres ahead of me at my one' o' clock!"_

"Adjust your course 52 degrees to your left, and follow us!" Cassia added the course adjustment as the Vengeance loomed closer. "Get on the comm and tell that useless Engineer to hurry up. ETA 20 seconds!"

"_Scotty, we're getting close. We need a warm welcome! Do you copy! Do you copy, Scotty!"_

There came no answer. They were close enough to see the scratches on the hull from the debris field crashing into the unshielded vessel. Cassia's heart was pounding.

"_If you can hear us, Mr Scott, open the door in 10..."_

"_Scotty!" _Kirk shouted desperately as the airlock came closer. Cassia's fists clenched and she grit her teeth.

"_9...8...7..."_

"_Mr Scott, where are you!?"_

"_..6...5...4..."_

"_Scotty, where are you!?"_

"…_3..."_

"_Copy, Scotty! Please!"_ Kirk's voice was beyond desperate now, as he shouted down the comm. She restrained an urge to yell at Spock to stop bloody counting down to their deaths.

"…_2...Mr Scott, open the door!"_

"_Scotty, open the door!"_

"_Mr Scott, NOW!"_

The airlock door suddenly slammed open, and they flew inside, passing a figure in black and blue flying the opposite direction. For Kirk's sake, she hoped it wasn't Scotty.

As soon as the vacuum was stopped, they crashed onto the floor, their thrusters down, as they rolled, over and over on the hard, cold floor of the cargo bay, towards a figure crumpled on the ground next to the console ahead.

Cassia managed to regain control, and stop her tumbling, sliding to a halt just in front of the man, dressed in the Starfleet shuttle uniform, watching them open-mouthed and incredulous, panting and red-faced.

Her lover and their reluctant ally rolled to a halt beside her, as she cracked out a few kinks in her limbs from the crash, meeting the eyes of the man watching them like they were ghosts.

"Welcome aboard."

* * *

"It's good to see you, Scotty," Kirk groaned, forcing himself upright. Cassia pulled her helmet off, Khan on one knee as he surveyed their surroundings.

"Who are they?" Scotty asked, confusedly, as she shook her hair out and stood, already tearing her suit off.

Kirk was still recovering from their flight and he groaned as he straightened his spine. "Khan, Cassia, Scotty. Scotty, Khan and Cassia."

"Hello!" the Scotsman called, still panting, as Cassia inclined her head. His eyes widened. "Wait, wasn't she-?"

"Yeah, not now Scotty," Kirk groaned, while Cassia grinned wickedly.

"They'll know we're here. I know the best way to the bridge," Khan stated, rising from his crouch, ignoring Scotty's greeting.

They took the suits off as quickly as possible, stowing them behind a storage unit while Kirk broke out the phasers. "They're set to stun," he warned the two Augments as he handed them one.

"Theirs won't be," Khan pointed out as he hefted it and the primed the firing mechanism.

"Try not to get shot," Kirk quipped, as Scotty gulped, looking both exhilarated and terrified out of his wits.

"Really brilliant advice," Cassia rolled her eyes as Khan led the way, her own phaser out and ready. "Starfleet worried you'll get a bit trigger happy, Kirk?"

"You know I liked you better when you were a stuck-up, obnoxious human, instead of a stuck-up, obnoxious genetically altered human," Kirk retorted in a whisper as she grinned as Scotty stared at them both.

"Likewise," she breathed, before turning and following Khan into the dark bowels of the ship, Scotty and Kirk at their back.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	8. Chapter 8

Down The Rabbit Hole

Warnings: Violence.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

The decks of the Vengeance were dark and claustrophobic, the air heavy and warm. Even for an Augment. Cassia grit her teeth as a droplet of sweat glided down her spine beneath the tight-fitting shirt.

On a ship designed for minimal crew, most areas were not outfitted with the environmental control systems necessary to ensure comfort, relying on the natural cold of space to prevent the engines from overheating this deep into the ship. Only the bridge would have full environmental systems.

That was a design flaw if ever she saw one. She idly pondered passing comment on that fact, but by the grim, determined look on her lover's face, she doubted it would be welcome. There was a time and a place for her smart mouth and this was not it.

Besides, she needed to focus. Vengeance was so close; she could almost taste it on the tip of her tongue as they jogged through the empty Engineering level, phasers at the ready.

"Umm, I don't know about anybody else, but shouldn't we be running about now?" Scotty inquired pointedly. "Or, you know, using a turbolift?"

"We can't," was all Khan said, as the two Augments didn't bother looking back at their human companions. "Too dangerous."

"Dangerous?" the Scotsman spat incredulously. "I'll tell you what's dangerous! In three minutes, they're going to have full power…and we're _**walking**_!?"

"The turbolifts are easily tracked and Marcus would have use in a cage," Khan deigned to explain, pausing just a moment at a workstation to check the power levels. Cassia kept her phaser ready but glanced at the readouts herself. They had two and a half minutes left. "This path runs adjacent to the engine room. They know they won't be able to use their weapons here without destabilising the warp core which gives us the advantage."

"So I hope you boys are ready for some good old-fashioned brawling," Cassia breathed, with a predatory grin at their two companions, the Scotsman panting for breath and looking torn between bemusement and awe, Kirk eying her with an oddly anticipatory gleam. He enjoyed a good fight as much as she did, it seemed.

"Where did you find these two?" Scotty muttered, as the two Augments turned away and led the way further into the ship.

"Long story," Kirk muttered, lengthening his strides to keep up.

* * *

The very shadows felt threatening to Cassia, as she ran along beside her lover, her breathing deep and regular, her muscles easily falling to that familiar rhythm of running. It was one constant in her life at least.

Ever since Spock had melded with her, she'd felt off-balance. Distant, blurred, snatches of her buried humanity whispered and echoed in her mind, unlocked by the Vulcan's touch, and she burned with both pain and hatred for that.

But, she was an Augment, a superior being. She hid it from all eyes, even her lover's. She would not let this destroy her.

She glanced sideways to him, tall and strong, his face half in shadow in the dark corridors. She wondered what he planned after Marcus was dead. No doubt, Kirk would try to prevent the Admiral's death and she had a fairly good notion of what Khan planned to do to retrieve their people.

She only hoped his vengeance would be sated with such a victory. She truly hoped she would not be forced to intervene on the humans' behalf, and betray her lover. He had changed, from the man she had known, his darker, savage nature controlling him whereas before, he had always controlled it.

Before, when they fought together, it had always been for their survival, or because their survival depended upon their savagery and meeting the expectations of the men who created them, in their vanity and folly. When the threat had passed, that savagery had slumbered, beneath the surface maybe, but dormant until that foolish human tried to assassinate them both. She remembered those days of peace with an inward sigh, relishing the freedom they possessed, at last, and the chance to choose their own destinies.

At least, she had then. Now, she only saw it as further proof that she, and her brethren, had never possessed the freedom to choose their own paths. As Marla, she had been forced into becoming Cassia. As Cassia, she'd had no choice but to kill to survive, and it had been Singh's madness that created in her, and the others, to thirst to dominate, to rule. And as Cassandra, her every move, her every choice, had been dictated and manipulated by Admiral Marcus, waiting for the day he would use her against Khan.

And now…she didn't know who or what she was. Despite Khan's certainty, and her own desires, more lingered beneath the surface. She was not Marla McGivers anymore, and Cassandra Mason had been a lie, a story of normality she had long ceased to belong in, yet she was not Cassia either. Cassia would not have fired in anger upon her lover after the death of a human, nor would she have thought twice about abandoning the away team on Qo'noS to find Khan. She had used them, yes, but she had also defended them, fought beside them. As she was now, even if their motives and objectives would, no doubt, diverge.

So who was she? Cassia didn't know.

* * *

She was torn from her reverie by the worried voice of Scotty. "I don't mean to tempt fate here, but where is everybody?"

"The ship is designed to be flown by a minimal crew, one if necessary," Khan replied curtly.

"One, but that's-?" Scotty was cut off abruptly, as a burly, uniformed man threw himself at them from behind an intersection. Khan caught his arm, throwing him against the wall and delivering a punishing uppercut to his ribcage.

Immediately after that, the cramped corridor was swamped by chaos.

Cassia felt a hand grab her shoulder, as Kirk and Scotty cried out behind her. She twisted the wrist, snarling, before spinning and kicking the guard away. The narrow hallway gave little room for manoeuvre, but her agile movements allowed her some advantage.

She grabbed one assailant, shoving him headfirst against the wall, but the man was tougher than her previous opponents, recovering from the blow and managing to land on of his own across her jaw. Taking the hit, she let the momentum smash her into the wall, before lashing out at him with a backhanded blow, turning and spinning, her leg flowing in a high arc to snap his head sideways, blood spurting from his mouth. He fell to his knees, and Cassia finished him with a roundhouse kick that sent him flying backwards.

The next man foolish enough to attack her punched her hard in the gut, sending her onto her back, but she wrapped her legs around his torso, twisting and driving him to the floor. Grabbing him by the neck, she lifted him high into the air, his hands clawing at hers, as she slowly cut off his oxygen supply.

Nausea assailed her, and she threw him away from her, suddenly sickened. He landed against the wall with a _thud_, sliding down to join his fellows. She felt no joy, no exhilaration bar the adrenaline in her veins, now. She had expected too, had relished the chance of a fight in the hangar bay, but now, as she stood amongst the chaos, surrounded by her kills, she felt nothing.

Suddenly a familiar hand yanked her into a side corridor, and she jogged along beside Khan, the sounds of the fight receding as Kirk finished off the last. They paused, panting just a little, in an alcove, listening for sounds of pursuit.

"We haven't got much time," Khan hissed. "I need you to listen, Cassia."

She nodded, stowing her phaser in her waistband, pushing aside her conflict to listen, looking up into her lover's eyes, glowing with determination and ruthlessness.

"Once we get to the bridge, Kirk will no doubt stun us after Marcus and his men are neutralised. You know as well as I that their phasers stun setting will have no effect, but we must play along. Just long enough for Kirk to drop his defences," he told her quickly and quietly. She nodded.

"You're going to use him, Scotty and Marcus's daughter as leverage over Commander Spock, to regain our family," she murmured certainly, and he nodded. She was about to ask him what came after, hoping her suspicions would not be proven correct, when they heard the sounds of footsteps, and knew Kirk and Scotty were close.

Wordlessly, Khan stepped out to meet them, pulling his phaser, as she went to his side. "This way," he murmured, turning and running through an intersection, Cassia at his side, Kirk and Scotty following just a little too far behind to be inconspicuous. It seemed Khan was right.

She knew Kirk was determined to see Khan punished for the attack on Starfleet, was not surprised that he intended to betray Khan, but then she suspected he expected the same thing from Khan. _What a tangled web we weave…_

They finally made it to Deck One, carefully jogging down the corridors, covering all the intersections and doorways between the four of them, when the lights came on with a _whirring _sound. The Vengeance had regained full power.

* * *

They sprinted down the final corridor, making the bridge just as Cassia heard Marcus give the order to re-target the Enterprise.

The room exploded with a cacophony of pained cries and shouts of alarm, and the sound of phaser fire, as they opened fire. Out the corner of her eye, Cassia saw Marcus's daughter elbow her captor in the face, clearly taking their side, as all the Section 31 agents on the bridge dropped like flies before them.

A tense calm settled, as the only people left conscious were Cassia, Khan, Kirk, Scotty, Carol and Admiral Marcus. As one, the two Augments' turned to stare down at Marcus, as the desire for vengeance overwhelmed the conflict in Cassia's mind, and only the need to kill remained.

He sat in the Captain's chair, proud and defiant, his eyes showing his unease as he stared at the two Augments, and she was gratified to see the _**fear**_ in his eyes, growing like a cancer, fear of their rightful retribution for his crimes against them.

Cassia stepped forward, her phase raised, but let herself fall as a burning sensation against her shoulder knocked her down, hitting the cold metal of the desk hard. She felt Khan go down beside her and knew that he had been right, that Kirk had done exactly what Khan had said he would, used them and then betrayed them when they ceased to be useful. She wondered why she was even surprised.

Kirk had done exactly what they would have done in his place.

She dimly heard the slightly heavier footsteps of Scotty stride over to stand guard over her and her somnolent lover, as she made sure only to open her eyes a microscopic amount, enough to see the glitter of Khan's eyes through the veil of his lashes. She waited for the signal to attack, as Kirk and Marcus spoke, the younger human's voice cold, calm and collected as the elder grew ever angrier and hysterical in his justifications for his actions.

"If I'm not in charge, then our entire way of life is decimated. So if you want me off this ship, you'd better kill me…" Marcus shouted, like a raging bull faced with a tranquilliser. A feeling of grim, vicious anticipation swept over her, as she lay limp and prone beneath Scotty's distracted attention, her lover still and unmoving.

She would gladly do the job herself.

"I'm not going to kill you, sir. But I could stun your arse and drag you out of that chair. I'd rather not do that in front of your daughter," Kirk replied, still so cold and calm. She had to hand it to him, he was very good.

She heard Carol Marcus's affirmative response to Kirk's concerned question, and saw Khan's hand tighten into a fist. Now, then.

She flipped herself up from the floor at the same time Khan leapt to his feet and tackled Scotty to the floor, knocking the engineer unconscious in one blow. He leapt over the console, hitting Kirk squarely in the chest as his phaser clattered to the ground.

Spotting Marcus making a run for the turbolift, Cassia leapt across the bridge, ignoring the cries of pain from Kirk as Khan roared and battered the human into submission.

Carol Marcus, the foolish girl, tried to block her way. "Please, no. Wait!" she gasped, but Cassia paid her little heed. She grabbed the human girl and threw her against a bulkhead, the scientist hitting her head and slumping to the ground, unconscious.

"Admiral Marcus," she purred, as he turned to face her, eyes wide with fear and hatred. "Going somewhere?"

He swung for her, but she grabbed his wrist and snapped it back, feeling a vicious surge of satisfaction when he cried out in pain. Releasing him for a split second, she kicked out at his knee joint, letting her full strength free for a moment, effectively severing the tendons of his right knee, as he collapsed to his knees, screaming hoarsely.

With a contemptuous glare, she stepped around Marcus's kneeling, whimpering form, and took hold of his neck, holding him tightly as Khan rose from his fight with Kirk, the human gasping for breath, too winded to move.

Khan met her eye with a fiercely predatory, savage gleam, as he stalked across the bridge, ignoring Kirk's coughing, gasping protests as he fought to rise and regain his breath.

"You took them from me, you took _**her**_ from me," he snarled at the injured Admiral, his eyes dark with murderous intent, as he raised his hands to the human's head. He met her eye, and she nodded, just once, as he looked back down on the cowering human between them. "You exploited our power, our intellect. You made us slaves, foolish human. You should have learned the lesson of our creators' fates."

"We are slaves to no one," Cassia growled, releasing Marcus's neck to splay her fingers over Khan's. With a shared look, they both began to press their hands together, Marcus screaming as the pressure built, his skull cracking from the strain. Khan snarled, all pretences, all veneers dropped, revealing the savage warrior beneath, defending his family and taking vengeance for their, and his, suffering.

"You should have let us sleep," Khan growled, as Marcus screamed one last time.

* * *

Silence fell, the bridge strewn with the unconscious bodies of Section 31 agents, as Cassia released Marcus's prone, bloodied body, Khan doing the same. The silence was oddly strange after the crack and tearing of bone and skin, and she distastefully wiped the blood on her hands away, on the material of her trousers.

A hand, soft and tender, on her cheek prompted her to look up, into Khan's eyes, grimly satisfied. Their vengeance was complete, or at least Cassia hoped so.

Khan leant in, his lips brushing hers, as she willingly kissed him, one of the softest that had ever passed between them, his forehead resting on hers for a split second after their lips parted, before he drew himself up. She nodded to him, they still had work to do.

Now it was time to recover their family.

Khan turned away, recovering Kirk's lost phaser from the deck, and grabbing the human by the neck, hauling him upright.

"You bastard!" he snarled weakly, struggling in Khan's hold but the Augment just tightened his grip until Kirk was too busy struggling to breathe to fight.

"He harmed what is mine, and would have killed them all, and your own crew, Kirk," Khan snarled, pressing the muzzle of his stolen phaser to Kirk's neck. "I merely took what was rightfully mine: revenge."

"That won't…undo…what he did," Kirk panted defiantly.

"No, it won't," Khan agreed softly. "But now, he will never harm my family again."

And with that, he dragged Kirk in front of the view screen, before turning back to Cassia. "Hail the Enterprise. Time to finish this, once and for all."

She nodded, striding past the limp, unconscious figures of Scotty and Carol Marcus, to the communications console, her fingers flying over the touchpad, as the image of Commander Spock and the bridge of the Enterprise filled the view screen.

"I'm going to make this very simple for you-" Khan began coldly.

"Captain!" Spock called, surprised and distressed, even for a Vulcan, as Cassia watched her lover closely.

"- Your crew for my crew," her lover finished, ignoring the brief interruption.

"You betrayed us," Spock stated, stepping away from the pilot's console and Sulu, to stare balefully at the two Augments on screen.

"Oh, you are smart, Mr Spock," Khan replied scornfully, just as Kirk made one final attempt at defiance, calling out to his First Officer not to negotiate with Khan, before the Augment struck him down with the butt of his phaser. The Vulcan started forward, impotence sparking frustration and concern, as he stared at them through the view screen. "Mr Spock, give me my crew."

"And what will you do when you get them?" the Vulcan asked, frowning. Cassia inhaled, inaudibly, but she waited, hoping, praying to a deity she had long stopped believing in….

"Continue the work we were doing before we were banished. Drop your shields!" Khan replied, calmly and without noticing the growing resignation in his lover's eyes, as she watched him, retaining her cool façade even as her mind raced for a way out.

The time for that was over. But she knew now was not the time to confront him about it; no, once their family was safely onboard, and the Enterprise crew safely out of harm's way, then she could confront him and persuade him to a different path.

_Of course, this had to happen. My damned 'humanity' had to make a reappearance now…_

The truth was, the moment those words left Khan's mouth, confirming her suspicions, something, a voice as strong as the one that had stopped her abandoning the Enterprise crew on Qo'noS, shouted in denial within her. She could not let this happen. Their time was over.

Now she had to convince Khan of that. Marcus was dead, the threat eliminated. With the Vengeance and their crew, they could leave, find a distant quadrant of the galaxy and settle, or explore. The time of the reign of the Augments was over, they were needed no more.

But she had to pick her moment. Arguing with Khan while their people were still onboard the Enterprise in those torpedoes, in front of Spock and the crew of the Enterprise was not it.

She tuned back into the conversation, as Khan spoke again, chilled by the bestiality she saw in his eyes. "Shall I destroy you, Mr Spock? Or will you give me what I want?" he asked, as she shivered. She knew the savagery, the darkness of their natures, had known it from the day she awoke from the augmentation procedure, under Singh's watchful eye, but this…this was what happened when that darkness, that savagery had no purpose, no outlet, but was prodded and poked until it exploded with destructive precision. Marcus had all but driven Khan insane during those years he was held captive, a slave to Marcus's designs and the threat of annihilation for their family. She uneasily wondered if she could even reach him, but she had to try.

"We have no transporter capabilities-" onscreen, Spock was clearly playing for time, but Khan was not to be fooled.

"Fortunately, mine are perfectly functional. Drop. Your. Shields!" he barked in reply, his patience beginning to run low. Silently, Cassia moved away from the console, to Khan's side, as Spock's eyes narrowed at the sight of her.

She nodded imperceptibly.

"If I do so, I have no guarantee that you will not destroy the Enterprise," the Vulcan stated, after a moment, as Cassia's eyes glanced towards Khan, watching him intently, while Kirk moaned at their feet, barely conscious as Carol Marcus too began to stir.

"Well, let's play this out logically then, Mr Spock," Khan replied silkily, pleasure dripping from his tone as he enjoyed the resignation and defeat in the eyes of his opponent, their discourse as chess game in which Khan was quickly emerging the winner. "Firstly, I will kill your Captain to demonstrate my resolve. Then, if yours holds, I will have no choice but to kill you and your entire crew."

"If you destroy our ship, you will also destroy your own people," Spock pointed out calmly.

"Your crew requires oxygen to survive, mine does not. I will target your life support systems, located behind the aft nacelle and after every single person aboard your ship suffocates, I will walk over your cold corpses to recover my people. Now, shall we begin?"

Cassia felt a thrill, of both cold and excitement, rush down her spine and pool at its base at his words. Ruthlessness and drive was something she more than understood, she had taken a part in killing Marcus, in neutralising Scotty and Carol Marcus, in manipulating Kirk and his crew in her efforts to find Khan again, and before, so many years ago, during the Wars…but this…

She could not allow this to continue. This was not Khan, the proud, noble tyrant history had labelled him, nor the possessive, loving man she knew, but a mad, insane creature who would destroy everything while lying to himself and to others. This wasn't about Starfleet, or Marcus, anymore. This was just about watching the universe burn for the sake of it.

That had not been their way. They didn't have to do this anymore.

Inhaling through tight lungs, she glanced once more at the screen, meeting Spock's eyes, and nodded once more, a tiny inclination of her head that any but Spock or her lover would miss. "Lower shields," Spock gave in, at her gesture.

"A wise choice, Mr Spock," Khan purred, kicking the newly awakened Kirk in his solar plexus, flipping him onto his back as he walked to one of the consoles, running a sensor scan on the Enterprise, as Cassia went to assist him, ignoring Kirk spluttering and coughing for breath at her feet.

"I see all 72 torpedoes are still in their tubes. If they are not mine, Commander, I will know it!" Khan barked, eying the Vulcan onscreen warningly.

"Vulcans do not lie. The torpedoes are yours," he replied coldly, and Khan nodded to Cassia. She activated the transporters, beaming the torpedoes into the cargo bay they had entered from outside, feeling a swell of warmth in her chest as she realised that their family was safe once more, almost making her forget the difficult battle still ahead.

Changing Khan's mind.

"Thank you, Mr Spock," her lover breathed, his tone tinged with a hint of relief, but mostly triumph, as he turned and strode towards the Captain's chair.

"I have fulfilled your terms, now fulfil mine," the Vulcan demanded. With a nod from Khan, Cassia transported the three humans, but not before Khan spoke directly to Kirk, Spock's eyes flickering with resignation and grim determination at his words.

"Well, Kirk, it seems apt to return you to your crew," Khan purred silkily. "After all, no ship should go down without her Captain!"

* * *

As soon as the energy ribbons from the transporters faded, before the transmission to the Enterprise faded out, Cassia gathered her courage, stepped forward and said, in as commanding and unyielding a voice as she could muster, "No."

Khan ignored her, locking phasers and torpedoes onto the crippled Enterprise, as Cassia watched in unfamiliar horror. With a snarl, she subverted Khan's commands, locking him out of the system, as the phasers deactivated and the explosions that rent the hull of the ship opposite them stopped, but even she could see the damage to the ship was extensive.

"Cassia?" Khan's voice, cool and questioning, hiding how furious he really was, murmured against her ear, as she took her life in her hands and turned, hands on the console behind her, facing Khan as he stared at her, with betrayal and murderous rage in his eyes. "What have you done?"

"I said, no," she repeated. "This ends here, Khan."

"Yes it will, Cassia," he replied eagerly. "We will destroy all those that threaten us, and it will end here. First Kirk, then Earth, just as soon as you give me back access to the Vengeance's computer."

"I said, no!" she barked. "This, destroying the Enterprise, retaking the Earth, is not necessary. We do not need to do this."

Khan glared at her, as she continued determinedly.

"Marcus is dead. The Vengeance is ours. We have our family. Now it's time to go, to get away from all of this, where no one will find us again. Endless war will not give us peace or freedom, not this time-"

"It is what we are, Cassia," he suddenly interrupted in a snarl, taking hold of her and jerking her into his arms. "It is who we are."

"Not anymore," she returned heatedly. "The humans have made peace for themselves, their technology and civilisation advanced far beyond what we recall. Marcus and his ilk are a minority, and the humans are not alone. Remember how their numbers were able to overwhelm even our powers? Now they have all the power and the numbers of countless planets at their call. They need us no more, and now it is time for us to choose who we will be."

"Your reawakened humanity makes you weak," Khan sneered, as Cassia's jaw firmed and she raised her head proudly.

"No, it gives me clarity for the first time in centuries," she snapped back. "All our lives, Khan, we have been told what we are, what we must do. We were snatched from our human lives by oppressors who saw us as nothing more than experiments, to be discarded if we failed, or developed further if we proved viable. When we became Augments, we were nothing more than slaves, pawns to our creators, and the only way we could have freedom was to take control, but even then, we still adhered to the identities forced on us by Singh and his kind. And now again, with Marcus. All this time, we have been manipulated into following the same pattern, the same identity, again and again, when the freedom to choose our own paths, our own freedom was right there in front of us. We have it in our grasp now, our family is safe, we have a ship faster than any in the Federation, or any of the Empires. This is our last chance to take it."

Khan stared at her like he had never seen her before, and even she was inwardly shocked by the passionately vehement speech that had just poured forth from her very soul, it felt.

"When we ruled, you never killed any of the humans under your care unless they deserved it," she breathed. "Marcus deserved death for what he did to you, to me and to our family. Kirk does not, the crew of the Enterprise does not, _**Earth**_ does not. Let them go, let all of this go and come away with me. Stop this now, before we lose everything we have fought so hard to regain."

She stepped closer into him, feeling his breath shuddering against her cheek, as he closed his eyes and leaned into her, affected by her words. She enclosed him in her arms, needing his strength as much as he needed her, her lips pressing mutely against his cheek.

"What do you choose?" she breathed. "Because if you choose this path, here and now, I cannot follow you."

"You pledged yourself to me, for all eternity," he told her roughly, his eyes dark when they met hers, but the fire in them had dimmed a little, to Cassia's ever-increasing hope.

"That vow still holds, and always will. But I am not your slave, to blindly obey you in all things, Khan," she stroked his cheek. "Nor to let you make a mistake that could destroy us all. You will always have me, even if you hate me forever after this day. I love you."

"I could…never hate you," he replied quietly, almost stiltedly, as his forehead pressed against hers, their faces rubbing against one another intently, their lips brushing every few seconds.

"Come away with me. Be with me and our family, once more, no more fighting, no more wars, just us. And true freedom at last," she whispered. His arms tightened around her waist, as he opened his mouth to speak-

Just then an explosion rocked the Vengeance, flinging them forward, into the main consoles, as the computers blared warnings and the shields began to fail.

Cassia gasped as realisation set in, as she scrambled for a handhold on the suddenly wildly pitching bridge, as the ship floundered, the explosions destabilising the warp core.

The torpedoes. Their family…

Her cry of despair and denial rose with Khan's, as they screamed their grief and their rage to the cold expanse of space.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	9. Chapter 9

Down The Rabbit Hole

Warnings: Violence and graphic description of injury. Some instances of bad language.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

The bridge shook and shuddered. Warning alarms blared from every console, the anti-gravity going haywire, as the engines struggled and failed to remain online.

The detonation in the cargo bay had destabilised the engines severely. It was all Cassia could do to hold on.

She was acting on autopilot, her survival instinct kicking in even as her entire being trembled with shock and grief. Spock had done it.

Her family was dead.

She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream and rage and tear the Universe apart. All the darkness inside of her overflowed and brimmed forth, subsuming her rational mind. All thought of protecting the humans, of protecting the Enterprise, had been obliterated the moment those torpedoes had exploded.

They would start with Starfleet. The entirety of humanity would pay for the genocide that had just been committed in their name. Spock would rue the day he was ever born, as he lost the last home he had. They would tear it apart.

She met the wild, grief-stricken eyes, burning with hatred, of her lover as he tried to divert enough power from auxiliary systems to stabilise the engines. But it was far too late.

They both nodded, and she gritted her teeth as her hands flew over the console, barely wincing as sparks danced all around her. She diverted all remaining power from non-essential systems, and as they spiralled further out of control, entering the Earth's atmosphere in a wild freefall, she diverted it from life support too.

Suddenly she felt his hand over hers on the console, and was torn from her grief-driven urgency, as he held it tightly. "If we go down, they go with us," he told her, his voice a bestial snarl. She doubted hers was any better.

She nodded; turning back to the view screen as they narrowly missed the Enterprise, a savage feeling of disappointment that they had not taken the ship down with them too filling her, as she growled. "Computer, set destination. Starfleet Headquarters!"

_Engines compromised. Cannot guarantee destination. Confirm order._

"Confirm!" Khan snarled beside her, his face savage and unhinged in the harsh glare of the red emergency lighting. The ship shuddered and strained, as they watched through the view screen as first land and sea, then the cityscape of San Francisco, materialised. Cassia's knuckles whitened as she tightened her grip on the console, one hand in Khan's, as they dived steeply.

The entire ship juddered and bucked as it hit Alcatraz, demolishing the former prison and tourist destination, the Vengeance doggedly limping its destructive way, until it crashed into the towering skyscrapers and glass prisms of San Francisco, sliding to a halt.

Just before she was thrown to the side by the final impact, consoles and overhead compartments splintering and exploding in showers of sparks, as the computers blared more warnings, she felt a surge of vicious satisfaction as she saw Starfleet Headquarters, seconds before it was crushed beneath the Vengeance's hull.

She was thrown away from Khan, as the view screen shattered, leaving them exposed to the open air, and a thirty-metre drop below, the support struts of the consoles the only thing saving her. Debris fell all around her, and she covered her eyes against the plasma sparks raining down around them, just as she felt a sharp punch to her gut, driving the breath from her lungs, her entire body bowing with the force.

Her world became one purely of sensation. The blare of emergency shuttles in the ruined city below them. The crackling as cables and circuits sparked above her head. The rumble of debris as buildings partially collapsed and the ship's dying hull disintegrated onto the streets below. The acrid smell of smoke, the metallic scent of iron and rust, something warm trickling down her waist, soaking her shirt and trousers. Her entire body cried out in pain as she gasped for breath, each one a fight. She was paralysed, unable to move.

Frantically, she listened for Khan, fear clouding her mind as she tried to see where he had been thrown, when she heard his voice, weak at first, then growing stronger with fear and urgency, calling her name in the dark remains of the bridge. "Cassia!"

"Here, Khan!" she shouted, her voice raspy with pain unlike anything she had experienced in centuries, or ever. It fogged her mind, made it difficult to think, as she shook and trembled. She was dimly aware of the sound of someone scrabbling over debris and consoles to her side, and then he was there, beside her, hands urgently cupping her face.

"Cassia," he breathed in relief, before his eyes widened as he took in her wound, his hands dropping to her waist.

"How bad is it?" she asked weakly, her body already fighting to give in the unconsciousness beckoning at the edges of her vision, black and inviting. His hands trailed over her exposed abdomen, and she could feel the long, thin pole piercing her stomach through the left side, pinning her to the console beneath her. Considering the ruin that the bridge had become, it was little surprise to her. His fingers probed the wound, and she cried out, the metal cold within her body.

"Your injury is severe, and your body cannot regenerate unless we remove it," he told her gently, one bloodied hand stroking her hair back from her face.

"Better out than in," she quipped weakly, startling a pained chuckle from him, as she lowered her hands to the jagged, cylindrical piece of metal in her stomach, and gritted her teeth. With a cry of agony, her every muscle tensing with strain, she pulled it from her body, Khan's hands helping her as her spine arched, the pole making a sickening sucking sound as it left her body. She felt a fresh wave of her own blood pour from the wound, and breathed deeply, willing the pain away, holding it at bay. She shook, from head to toe, as she opened her eyes and looked up at Khan's.

The icy blue was filled with impotent fury and pain, as he looked down at her, writhing with pain and fighting to stay conscious. Her hands, scarlet with her own life force, raised to his and he flinched as her hands grazed mangled skin, blistered and burned through the torn fabric of his shirt.

"You've been hurt," she breathed.

"Not as severely as you. It's nothing," he replied softly. "Cassia, forgive me. Forgive me all of this."

"There is nothing to forgive," she told him intensely. "If it were not for you, I would never have found you again. I would never have found _**myself**_ again, my love."

She raised herself up as much as she could, forcing her weak limbs to do her will, and kissed him weakly. "You need to go," she whispered against his lips. "You have to run, or they'll catch us both."

"What hope is there now our family is dead?" he asked her darkly, before she shook her head.

"There is hope for us, Khan. As long as we live on," she whispered. "As long as we fight to live on, in the names of those we have lost. I love you."

"As I love you, and have done for three hundred years," he replied huskily, as she stroked his cheek with her hand.

"Good. Now go," she told him, as his face hardened and she could already see a denial forming on his lips. "NO! No more arguments. Much as I love having domestics with you, you need to run before the emergency services arrive, or before Starfleet does. You have to escape if we're to have any chance."

"I will not leave you here," he retorted with a fierce growl. "I will not lose you again."

Cassia shuddered as her body trembled with agony. It was shutting down slowly, gradually falling into unconsciousness. Their augmented DNA meant they could heal almost any injury without medical help, but for an injury such as this, her body was programmed to shut down and fall into a coma, diverting all excess energy, the better to heal quickly. There was only so much she could do to fight it, and she was beginning to lose the battle.

"You won't lose me," she breathed. "My body needs to heal, and I will only be a burden to you. You have to leave me behind. You have to stay free…!"

Her voice trailed off, as the fight to remain conscious began to tip against her, and she moaned, forcing back a cry of pain as her wound throbbed, the platelets in her blood beginning the regeneration process.

"Cassia, stay with me," she heard Khan's voice, as if from a great distance, and dimly looked up at him, focussing on his eyes. She saw determination crystallise in their depths, as he suddenly lifted her into his arms. She cried out, as he breathed apologies to her, then she felt just the rush of air and the feeling of her stomach bottoming out, well what was intact anyway, as Khan jumped from the ruined bridge with her cradled in his arms.

She barely felt the impact, as her body slowly numbed, when Khan landed, and immediately jogged away, with his precious cargo. She was vaguely aware as he stopped and laid her down on the cool ground, leaning over her, caressing her lacerated cheek. "Stay alive," he told her fiercely. "I will come for you, Cassia. I will come for you."

"I…know," she gasped weakly, her breathing becoming laboured. She heard the blare of emergency shuttlecraft, and pushed weakly at his shoulder. "Go!"

He pressed a swift kiss on her lips, one she could only weakly return, before he gently laid her head back down on the pleasantly cool ground, and disappeared from her sight. She turned her head to watch him run, with the fog clouding her vision, and hoped he remained free.

She closed her eyes and let the darkness take her.

* * *

It felt like mere seconds that she awoke, limp and as weak as a newborn kitten, opening her eyes to the harsh glare of light against pristine white walls, a medical display _bleeping_ softly beside her. She tried to move, but her wrists were tied down, and she was vaguely conscious of soft sheets against her body.

A hospital?

She remembered the crash and forcing Khan to leave her behind. Clearly she'd been found and taken to a hospital. She wondered if Starfleet had caught up with her yet or if her identity remained unknown. She doubted it, all they need do was cross-reference her DNA with those on Starfleet record.

Which meant she was likely at Starfleet Medical, under guard.

Somewhere to her left, a door opened and closed, and she slowly opened her eyes to see a particularly unwanted figure in front of her.

She may have been as weak as an infant feline, but that didn't stop her trying. "YOU!" she snarled, sitting up as far she could, trying to snap her restraints so she could throttle the damned Vulcan in front of her. She glanced at her restraints in frustration, but her injuries had taken a lot of regenerative energy it seemed. It would be a few days before she was back to full strength. She slumped back against her pillows with a growl, glaring narrowly as Spock's brow rose. "You'd better get out of here before my strength returns, Commander Spock, because when it does, I will tear you apart for what you did to my family!"

"There is no need for such threats," he told her calmly, barely blinking at her aggression. "Your crew is alive and still in stasis."

She froze, her breath coming hard and fast, as wild hope and disbelief fought for dominance in her mind. "You're lying. I was there on the bridge, I was there when the torpedoes exploded!" she snapped irefully.

Spock shook his head. "I did allow Khan to transport the torpedoes aboard the Vengeance, I however did not lie. The torpedoes were Khan's, but I had the cryotubes removed from them prior to arming them and allowing you to beam them aboard the Vengeance. As such, your people are alive and well."

Cassia stared, not sure if she could believe him or not. Logically, there was no gain in lying to her, and Vulcans could not lie, but Spock was not entirely Vulcan. He was half-human, which meant he could tell a half-truth at least. He sighed, and held her gaze directly. "I am telling the truth, Cassia. Your people are not dead."

"Fine," she muttered reluctantly. "Why am I here? What's happened while I was…unconscious?"

"The crash landing of the Vengeance caused significant damage to San Francisco, as I am sure you and Khan intended," Spock replied. "There are several thousand dead and many more still missing. There are ongoing efforts to retrieve the missing. You were found close to the wreckage of the Vengeance, unconscious and injured, and you were transferred to a civilian medical facility. However, once you were identified, Starfleet arranged your relocation to Starfleet Medical. You have been asleep for three days."

Cassia supposed Spock was looking for some hint of guilt or regret that they had caused such devastation, but she hit it well. Two could play at this game.

"You should not have interfered," she murmured coldly, her voice soft and deadly. "We were leaving once we had what we wanted. You looked into my mind, Commander, you knew my intentions to persuade Khan to leave. I had succeeded when you detonated those torpedoes."

"I knew you were responsible for the ceasefire after the Captain, Mr Scott and Doctor Marcus were returned to the ship, I however calculated that the risk of Khan simply ignoring you and seeking to continue the work you were engaged prior to your exile was too great," the Vulcan replied calmly.

"Work? What work?" Cassia snorted contemptuously. "Oh, let me guess? You actually believe what the history books tell you when they say we were mass murderers and war criminals? We were condemned by the very people we were created to protect, we did our task well. I hold no guilt for the role I played three hundred years ago, however I can see things have changed. I do not judge an entire race based on the actions of a few. That is why I wanted to leave, to find my own purpose, _**our **_own purpose without the dangers of others interfering with that. You know for being half-human, you really don't set much store in the persuasive power of emotions."

"That may be so," Spock replied coolly. "Regardless, Khan was apprehended and has been returned to his cryotubes."

Cassia eyed him closely. "There is something you are not telling me," she murmured questioningly.

"Kirk was fatally exposed to radiation. The damage caused by the Vengeance caused our warp core to go offline. Kirk entered it to repair it and paid with his life," the Vulcan explained after a moment, and Cassia sighed.

"I am sorry," she told him sincerely. "Kirk was a good man."

"That is not all," Spock continued. "I pursued Khan and returned him to the Enterprise, where Doctor McCoy deduced that using Khan's blood would revive the Captain. It appears to be working."

Cassia nodded, as she watched the stoic Vulcan intently, before a slow smile spread over her features. "You didn't pursue Khan just for that, did you Spock? You pursued him to kill him, to avenge Kirk's death, before McCoy informed you of the possibility of reviving Kirk. Correct?"

"You are correct," he replied after a moment.

"So you see, Commander. We are not so different, after all," Cassia finished quietly, as he eyed her narrowly. "What is to happen to me now?"

"The official story concerning you is that there is none. You were killed aboard the Enterprise during the Vengeance's attack, and now you have no identity. You will be returned to your cryotubes with the rest of your crew," he told her sternly, and she nodded.

"Good," she whispered. He watched, a slight arch of his brow the only sign of his surprise.

"That is not a response I was anticipating," he admitted.

"The urge to rule, to dominate, is very strong in me, Commander," she explained, after a moment's thought. "And there is more than one Admiral Marcus out there, ready to exploit my family's abilities for their own gain. This way, I will rejoin my family and be spared the temptation of power and the fear of exploitation, which is all I really want. If I cannot have freedom, then I will gladly take stasis alongside my family."

"The memories I uncovered during our meld have changed you," Spock stated, and she nodded.

"I do not want my life to be forever dictated by what I have been told I should be. In none of my lives have I ever accepted that readily. As Marla McGivers, I fought it only superficially and it led to my undoing. As Cassia, I had no choice if I wished to survive, and now…I truly refuse to do so," she replied proudly, and he nodded.

"Apropos of that, I wished to inform you," he replied, holding out a PADD to her carefully. "I was able to trace your human family. Records from that period are…incomplete at best, but I was able to ascertain that while your human father and mother both perished, your sister and brother did not. During the Eugenics Wars there are records of them in Australia."

Australia had been one of the few countries that held out against the Augments for the duration of the War. Cassia could barely believe it, as she blinked back tears.

Kayla, the little girl from that memory, had survived and gone on to live her life. "Was she happy?" she asked. She had no other memory of her human family before the Augmentation, but that one.

"We cannot extrapolate such a conclusion from the data available, but she still has descendants living on Earth, two of whom are serving in Starfleet," he told her, and she nodded.

"Thank you, Commander," she replied softly, looking away, to the window, where she could see the ruins of Starfleet Academy. "When will I be returned to my cryotubes?"

"As soon as the doctors are certain your condition will not deteriorate, nor that the stasis will harm you further," he replied, standing and retrieving his cap from where he'd placed it. She frowned at him.

"The stasis will not harm me, healed or not. Nor will my condition deteriorate," she stated firmly. Spock eyed her for a moment, before placing his cap back down and stepping a little closer.

"I was not referring to your injuries. From tests run on Khan's blood, we know their regenerative properties. I was speaking of your pregnancy," he explained, and she felt her jaw drop and her eyes go wide.

"Pregnancy? I can't be pregnant-" she began but he cut her off.

"If you are referring to the implant located in your arm which prevented such an occurrence, it is faulty," he replied. "As to the extent of your pregnancy, you are only a week into your first trimester. We must be certain that the cryogenic process will not affect you or the embryo adversely."

Cassia was still completely floored. Pregnant? "It won't," she told him shakily. "Pregnant women were placed in stasis all the time on sleeper ships during missions to Mars and such. Early as I am in the trimester, I doubt there will be many dangers, and the child is a product of mine and Khan's DNA. It will be far stronger than a normal human infant."

At that, Spock finally went to leave. At the threshold of her room, he paused and looked back. "It may sound illogical to state this, but I understand and respect your reasoning for your actions, and your aid will not be forgotten. Perhaps in a later time, you shall indeed be free once more. I suggest you read the information I have provided on that PADD concerning your family. You might find it most interesting."

Cassia could only stare as he walked away, sorrow and pain mingling with joy as she laid back against her pillows and stared at the ceiling, too immersed in her own shock to even think on escape. She finally glanced over the PADD, and her eyes widened before a slight smile curved her lips. Yes, very interesting indeed.

* * *

A week later, and she was nearly healed. Her strength was returning in increments but she attempted no escapes. There was no point, she had nowhere to go and her family was all she wanted now.

She briefly thought of escaping for the sake of the child, but where would they go? How would she raise him or her without the help of her family? Of Khan?

In truth, she was too afraid and too tired to contemplate escape. She just wanted her family.

One night as she was transferred to the secret facility where her family were being kept, she knew what was coming and welcomed it. Time to sleep, and hope for a better awakening which might not be too far in coming.

She hoped Kirk and Spock would take heed of her warning. Marcus would not have been alone in his ambitions and there would still be others who would look to exploit her family. She could only hope that her trust in Kirk was not misplaced.

She hated being out of control, but in this she forced herself to accept it.

As she slid into the cryotubes, wriggling slightly on the cushioned interior to make herself more comfortable, she grazed a hand over her abdomen, silently promising the child within her that things would be different one day, that they would awaken somewhere safe, and they could be born free. She glanced sideways, to the cryotube next to her, glimpsing her lover's face, calm and peaceful in icy repose and inhaled deeply, nodding to the medical staff that she was ready.

She felt nothing but peace for the first time in a long time, as the cryogenic sequence shut down her body, and darkness once more beckoned. This time, she gave into it gladly. One day, they would be free.

* * *

_**A/N: There's still one more chapter to go, remember!**_

_T__o be continued..._


	10. Chapter 10

Down The Rabbit Hole

Warnings: Some mild sexual themes, mild bad language.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

_**A/N: **_**So thank you for all your incredible support over the course of this story. The idea just kind of took hold of my brain, Khan-esque, and refused to let go. It's been truly mind-blowing and I think Cassia is definitely my best original character yet. To those asking for a sequel, there's nothing concrete. I have a few ideas floating around, mostly involving an early arrival of the Borg than depicted in the Prime timeline, but nothing substantial, and my WIPs list is getting longer and longer by the day. We'll see.**

**Now, without further ado, here is the final chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

It had taken them a year.

Operation Castaway had been ongoing ever since the destruction of Starfleet Headquarters by the unmarked Starfleet vessel that had been commandeered by the terrorist John Harrison.

To his slight irritation, Commander Spock had been appointed Operation head. It had been only logical he should be chosen, so the faint irritation was just his human side rearing its head as the metaphor went. Humans had such strange phrases to describe emotional reactions.

It had taken him away from his Captain and his ship, only just completed repairs in Spacedock and soon to be reassigned to the Deep Space Exploration Programme for five years. He almost smiled as he remembered Kirk's childlike enthusiasm for the assignment a year previous, and again, just after Spock returned to Earth from the survey mission aboard the U.S.S Vigilant. His enthusiasm was almost infectious.

After the transfusion, he had been concerned that the augmented blood now coursing through Jim's veins might cause side-effects, or more permanent changes, but Kirk had seemed the same rambunctious, reckless human being he'd always seemed to the Vulcan/human hybrid.

As he watched him, atop the podium, delivering what was for Jim, a measured, sober address about what Starfleet truly stood for, his thoughts turned to some of the last words the Augment Cassia had said to him before she was put back into stasis with her family.

He admitted they haunted him, but it had been a combination of Nyota and Jim himself who had finally prompted him to act on the possibility her words had evoked. He had been surprised, especially, at Jim's support for the project, both officially and unofficially. He had stood up and given his vocal support when they met with Admirals Barnett and Jameson to discuss what was to be done with the 74 Augments in stasis at a classified Starfleet facility in Russia.

It had taken both effort and time to convince the Admirals of the logic and morality of their proposal, but they had finally accepted it. Everyone deserves a second chance, as Jim had put it. Simple if efficient phrasing.

It had taken them exactly 8.6 months to locate a suitable M-class planet on which to establish a colony. Devoid of sentient species evolved enough to pose either a risk or a temptation, with a mild climate and the necessary materials for survival, there was little doubt the Augments would thrive on the planet officially designated Janus IV. The planet was comprised of similar structural characteristics to Earth, with one large ocean and two continents, separated by approximately one thousand miles of open ocean. The northern continent possessed the most suitable climate, mild and possessing numerous varieties of ecosystems, from plains to woodland to tundra in the extreme north of the continent, closest to the magnetic pole, unlike the southern continent which was comprised mostly of desert and savannah environments. It had taken 3.1 months to have the planet designated a research and conservation only system, unsuitable for colonisation. Located 10 light-years from Deep Space 6, it was deep enough in Federation space that it would be protected from enemy incursions if war with the other powers in the quadrant became a reality, but also remote enough that discovery would be highly unlikely.

He had briefly considered Ceti Alpha V, but an in-depth survey of the planet and its closest brother planet had shown severe deficiencies in the structural integrity of Ceti Alpha VI, alongside seismic shifts in the planet's mantle which were a cause for concern, one that ultimately led to the abandonment of the Ceti Alpha system as a possibility for relocation.

And now the Enterprise's first mission on their five-year assignment would be the relocation of the 74 Augmented humans and their supplies to Janus IV. The colony would be given all it needed to survive, and on their return trip to Earth in five years time, the Enterprise would conduct some minor sensor sweeps to ascertain the fate of the colony. As for anything else, they would follow the Prime Directive and allow the fate of the Augments to play out as it would.

Although Spock had a sneaking suspicion Kirk would probably ignore the Prime Directive as he had numerous times before. The human was predictable in his rebelliousness, after all.

* * *

It was the sensation of something other than cold that returned first. Her limbs, while weakened by the revival process, felt warm and light, no longer weighed down or confined by the ice which had kept her in stasis.

Her eyes were closed, but light burned through her thin lids, and she opened them cautiously. She squinted against the harsh light that assaulted her retinas, before something cool and shady fanned across her vision, and it settled enough for her to see a tree branch in full leaf, similar to an Earth elm tree, shielding her from the fierce light of the sun in the sky.

Blinking, she slowly sat up, fanning her hands across her body, feeling its corporeal reality, clothed in the Starfleet regulation black jumpsuit that she had worn when she was returned to her cryotube. Her hair was loose and long down her back.

This was real. In cryogenic stasis, one did not dream.

Her hand grazed over her neck, feeling the tiny indentations of an injection by hypospray, quickly healing, against her fingertips. She suspected she had been out of the cryotube for some time, but kept in an induced coma. The question was: why?

Slowly, she stood; testing out the strength of her legs, but her muscles had not atrophied as she feared they might. She was alone in the clearing.

Carefully, wary of alien beasts or traps, she left it, creeping along through the trees, until she reached another clearing, loaded with grey cargo chests stamped with the Starfleet insignia and identification numbers. And among them lay Khan.

She darted to his side, throwing herself down beside him and checking his pulse. Steady and strong, she breathed a sigh of relief as she stroked a stray lock of hair back from his forehead.

While she waited for Khan to awaken, she ran over recent events in her mind. The last thing she remembered was going to sleep in her cryotube. Now, she was awake and with her lover, on a planet that resembled Earth yet she felt it was not. There subtle differences, in the colour, in the air on the tip of her tongue as she inhaled through her mouth, and the moons she could see in the sky. No, they were on a different world.

They had been relocated, then, and if the storage containers were any indication, left to survive and thrive as they would. A second chance.

"Well, well," she breathed to herself. "Seems the Vulcan came through with his proposal after all."

She hadn't dared to hope after she had read Spock's encoded message on that data PADD. She could barely believe it now.

She wondered where the others were, before she remembered a very salient fact that her awakening had momentarily caused her to forget. She was pregnant.

And finally, their child, hers and Khan's child, would have the chance to be born, to live, without the legacy of her parents hanging over them. They would be free to choose their own path from the beginning, as Cassia never could.

Suddenly a movement beneath her hand tore her from her thoughts; as she looked down to see Khan's eyes open, unfocussed and wary as they stared restlessly at the sky above them.

"Khan?" she called his name softly, as those icy blue eyes snapped to her. "I'm here."

Focus and relief flooded into them, tinged with disbelief, as Cassia found her hand enfolded in his, then her arm and shoulder, before she was pulled into his desperate embrace. She clung to him tightly, smiling into his neck as he inhaled deeply of the scent of her hair.

"Cassia," he exhaled. "My love."

"I'm here, we're both here," she whispered. "Wherever 'here' is."

Khan drew back slightly, leaning back on one elbow, dishevelled and sinfully handsome in the shaded light breaching the leafy canopy above them. "What happened?" he asked. "I remember being pursued by the Vulcan, then he knocked me unconscious. What happened to you?"

"They found me and kept me under guard until I healed," she explained. "Then I was placed back into stasis, as you were. They used your blood to revive Kirk after he died from a radiation overdose while trying to save the Enterprise."

Khan's face hardened, and his eyes flashed. She held up her hand to head him off, and the words she could see on the tip of his tongue halted.

"I think…we have been brought here, to start again. We've been given a second chance, so to speak," she murmured softly. "Commander Spock intimated as much to me when he came to visit me during my recovery-"

"Exile, you mean," Khan spat venomously, looking away. "Somewhere remote and out of the way, no doubt, with no way to avenge our family's deaths-"

"If you let me finish, you great oaf," Cassia cut across him with a pointed glare, not intimidated in the slightest by his own. "Our family is not dead. Commander Spock and Doctor McCoy removed the cryotubes from the torpedoes before arming them and letting us beam them aboard the Vengeance. He duped us into taking them, believing they contained our people."

Khan listened to her, struck silent by her revelations, as he watched her intently. "You know this for certain?" he asked, a reluctant hope in his eyes.

"I saw them myself before I was placed back in stasis," she nodded. Khan's mouth stretched into the first truly happy smile she had ever seen on him, and she was almost taken aback by him. He pulled her to him and held her tightly. "Khan, what is it? You seem different?" she asked, sure something else had happened without her knowledge. He seemed erratic, jumping between his usual dark moods and happiness so light she was almost blinded by it.

"The Vulcan. During our fight, he melded with me to prevent me from crushing his skull," he explained, meeting her gaze directly, stroking back her hair. "It seems the Vulcan's powers were not only effective on you, my love. I took experienced a memory from my human life before I was able to push him away."

For a moment he looked haunted, and despite the curiosity burning inside of Cassia, she sensed that like her own experience, it had not been the most pleasant of memories. The time for confessions and discussion would come soon, but not now. Now was a time for reunion and joy before the work of rebuilding their family and ensuring their survival began.

"There's something I need to tell you, Khan," she murmured, drawing his attention away from whatever dark remembrance had momentarily consumed him. His eyes watched her warily, and she smiled. "I'm pregnant."

Shock made his entire face go blank, as he stared at her. "Pregnant? But…how?"

Cassia eyed him derisively, as he rolled his eyes. "I mean, how it is possible with the implant-?" he asked again, his hand grazing her arm.

"It seems three hundred years in cryogenic stasis damaged it. It wasn't working when you found me and brought my memories back, so when we made love, I conceived. I am only a week into the first trimester," she told him, as another smile appeared on his lips, transforming his face from its usual austere sensuality to the man she sensed he was before the Augmentation. He reached up and kissed her, pulling her down into his arms. She cupped his face and twisted her hips into him, drawing a moan from him as his arms tightened.

It was the only warning she had before he flipped her onto her back, her heavily muscled body sinking onto hers with a need she met with her own, ardently. He hauled her leg over his hip, rocking against her pelvis as she clutched his back, fire racing in her veins. The haze of pleasure and need descended, and it was all she could do not to tear the clothes from Khan's body and her own, and have him again. She wanted to, desperately.

But they needed to find their family first.

"Wait, wait!" she gasped, breaking away from his kiss reluctantly, her hair spread around her head like a halo. Khan made an impatient, growling sound, deep in his chest and bent his head to hers again, but she pushed him back. "We need to find the others first, Khan. If they wake up alone, they could get into trouble. They'll be confused. We need to find them."

Khan inhaled deeply and nodded, closing his eyes for a moment as his jaw worked, fighting back the need that flickered in Cassia's body, pleading for fulfilment. Once after three hundred years of separation was too long and too little.

But not now. Later.

He whispered that word to her as he let her up, hauling himself to his feet and holding a hand to help her up. She glanced at it, then at him narrowly, before climbing to her feet herself. She dusted down her jumpsuit, before meeting his aggrieved gaze pointedly. "I do hope you're not going to turn into an overbearing, overprotective gorilla for the next nine months?" she asked acerbically. "I mean more than you already are?"

Khan smirked wickedly. "Perish the thought, my love."

He held out his hand, and she took it with a long-suffering sigh, as they turned and walked into the trees, both memorising the way back to their supplies.

"So what now?" Khan asked her, as they walked.

"We start again. This time, we do it our way," she replied firmly. "This time, we decide who and what we are. No one can take that away from us this time."

She met Khan's icy gaze, and smiled warmly at the love she saw in them. He bent his head and kissed her gently, one hand dipping into her curls, as she leant into the caress.

They would always have the propensity for death and destruction in their blood, darkness and domination hardwired into their very DNA. But that did not mean that they had to choose to be defined by that. Now was the time for new beginnings and new paths to be forged.

They would forge their own path. As she felt Khan's hand against her abdomen, as she drew back and met his gaze, warmer than she had ever seen it before, that silent vow passed between them.

They heard voices, urgent and uncertain, in the forest ahead, and as one, they turned and strode to meet their family and the unknown future that awaited them.

If Cassia looked to the sky, in the clearing where they found all 72 of their family amassed, waiting for them, and saw a distant shape gliding through the sky, and smiled at the sight of it, she told no one else. This thank you was just for her, alone.

* * *

Aboard the Enterprise, Kirk, Spock, Nyota, Sulu, McCoy and Scotty amassed on the bridge, looking down on the planet below them, awash with cool blues and greens, netted with the white of cloud cover across its sphere.

"Relocation successful, Captain," Nyota murmured, from her workstation.

"All 74 life signs are active and strong," McCoy added from his own, monitoring the Augments as they awoke from afar. "It's done."

"Good," Kirk murmured, before looking to Scotty. "Scotty?"

"I've detonated a data charge in Starfleet Archives. All records, all mentions, of the Augments have been deleted from the Archives, Captain," the Scotsman replied.

Kirk glanced to Spock, unmoved and stern beside his chair. "Think we're doing the right thing?" he asked quietly.

"There is not enough data for any thorough conclusion, Captain," the Vulcan replied, before his eyebrow quirked slightly. "But as humans are known to say, it is up to them now."

Kirk chuckled wryly, before turning to Sulu and nodding. "On our way, Mr Sulu. Punch it."

"Yes, sir!"

As the ship jumped to warp, Kirk looked at his last glimpse of Janus IV, peaceful and calm in the endless cold of space, and his lips quirked in a smirk. _See you in five years…_

But first, they had a mission to complete, and new worlds and new civilisations to discover. To boldly go where no man had gone before.

_**Finis**_


End file.
